Kickass coughing

Kickass, the doorstop dog, says his keeper is in the second week of a debilitating cough that makes him sound like a bloodhound on a hot track.  The coughing attacks also seriously interfere with his sleep—and mine, and apparently send the keeper’s thought process off on meaningless quests:

If your dear old mother passes down a chronic-cough gene to you, is there a message from her that goes beyond, “Cover your mouth when you cough, Billy.”