Find out if you rate dogless date

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/02/2020 (2378 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I don’t know what to make of this new girlfriend of mine. She is a dog enthusiast and has three dogs of her own. She likes to pick me up for all our dates so we can take her dogs walking in the snow in different places. 

I like dogs, too, but feel like she’s doing “double duty” — taking the dogs out for exercise and to do their business while she gets to chat and flirt with me. In the end, she always gives me a passionate kiss, then drops me off and is gone! I don’t know what to make of her. What do you think?

— Getting Used? Winnipeg

Dear Getting Used: You’re not on her serious sweetheart list, but I’m guessing you’re high on her dog-walking list, as it makes walking her beloved dogs much more fun. The kiss at the end is to keep you coming back, and maybe thinking there’s more to come in this relationship — like sex. Unfortunately, there probably isn’t! 

If you really like this woman, experiment. Ask her for a date “without the dogs” and watch her face closely. If she looks a bit confused, it’s because that’s not how she viewed this “friendship” with you. If she says “great” and you two happily plan a dogless date, then the kisses you’re getting now mean more than I think.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I went on a blind date to a nice restaurant set up by my closest girlfriend. It was awful! This guy is the only single guy on her husband’s sports team, and I guess they want to get him matched up. 

There is a very good reason he’s single — he stinks of body odour. I don’t know how he stands it himself. It’s so bad I couldn’t even stay for dinner. We had a drink and I said I had to go immediately. 

When he looked disappointed and asked why I was leaving early, it just burst out of me: “Because you had a date and didn’t wash and use deodorant!” Then I turned and ran to the front of the restaurant, jumped in my car and left.

Now Stupid Cupid is mad at me for hurting this guy’s feelings and ditching him at the restaurant. I’m mad she and her boyfriend would set me up with a guy who had terrible personal hygiene — and who stinks to high heaven. 

I don’t want to lose my female friend, but I don’t know what more I can say. I’m still not sorry I ditched him!

— Never Apologizing, Downtown

Dear Never Apologizing: Your buddy wouldn’t have set you up with this guy if she knew ahead of time he’d arrive smelling terrible. So it isn’t really her fault. And you are not at fault for leaving early. 

Who’s likely at fault here is your girlfriend’s husband, who may have known this guy doesn’t bother with deodorant around the team. There are some guys who like their own underarm body smell even when it’s strong and disgusting to other people.

Either that was the case, or this guy had a shower and was so excited about meeting you, he forgot to use deodorant. But if the smell was that strong to you, one wonders how recent that shower was. 

At any rate, it’s not worth losing your female friend over, so ask her to meet you in person and talk it over, bearing in mind the points above, and then agree to no more set-ups. You will hunt for yourself and pick a guy who smells great and looks great to you, on your own time.

Although you hurt this guy’s feelings, he will have learned a hard lesson and may start travelling with deodorant and an extra shirt in his car, like a lot of serious athletes and successful lovers do.

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6.

Miss Lonelyhearts
Advice Columnist

   Read full biography