Dear Ann Cannon • I think my wife needs hearing aids, but she won’t listen to me … and not because she can’t hear. What can I say or do to convince her to have her hearing tested?
— Tired of Repeating Myself
Dear Tired • WAIT? IS THIS MY HUSBAND WRITING THIS LETTER? (I’m shouting because people who went to a lot of concerts at the Salt Palace when they were in high school can’t hear anymore.) Anyway, keep telling your wife what I need to tell myself — hearing loss isolates a person and increases his or her risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Dear Ann Cannon • My wife wants a puppy. I do not. What do we do?
— Dog-less in Salt Lake City
Dear Dog-less • The most hate mail I ever received in my short career as an advice columnist was when I told a reader to just go ahead and get the damn dog over her husband’s objections anyway. So, guess what? I’m gonna recuse myself. (But I think you should let her get a puppy anyway.) (Also, that reader went ahead and got the dog and her husband loves it.)
Speaking of dogs, I received this thoughtful feedback regarding the letter from a reader whose friends didn’t pay her for dog sitting.
I’m a dog lover too, and a volunteer for the Humane Society. There are much bigger issues in this situation than the two pages of instructions (though that’s bad enough; the letter writer was put into an impossible situation, what with her “friend” probably rushing out the door without allowing even for a “now wait just a minute!”). Doesn’t the dog owner know her own pets well enough to see a problem? Had those big, aggressive dogs attacked someone — human or canine — and done real damage, Dog Owner and her family could have been sued for all they’re worth, and the plaintiff would have won! The judgement could have gone well beyond vet and/or hospital bills.
There are plenty of people around here who do pet sitting for a living, who know the right techniques for handling aggressive dogs. And this is not even to mention the many fine boarding facilities in this area. Yes, it’s expensive — but the money is trifling considering what a lawsuit would cost. Legal fees, actual damages, compensation for pain and suffering — do I need to go on? This “friend” needs to hire a pro. And your letter writer needs to tell her friend, in no uncertain terms, that she’s NOT going to look after those dogs again.
Ann Cannon is The Tribune’s advice columnist. Got a question for Ann? Email her at askann@sltrib.com or visit the Ask Ann Cannon page on Facebook.
