Get in the market for a pooch-free partner

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/08/2020 (2189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My new boyfriend has a dog and he allows her to sleep at the foot of the bed after we make love and are ready to close our eyes.

I swear that dog hates me. She always starts off at the bottom of the big bed and wiggles her way up the middle until she has her paws on his bare back. Then she pushed me to the extreme side of the bed. Last night I fell off and my boyfriend laughed and said, “She’s just jealous. Climb back on.”

I told him to put her out of the bedroom first, and he said, “She’ll just cry outside the door all night.” I started to cry. He’d made his choice. I got dressed, and drove home.

He phoned to tell me “not to be so silly” and didn’t offer to change anything, except saying he might get another puppy to keep the first one company at night! I really like this guy, but not the dog deal. What should I do?

—Second Place to a Dog, Sage Creek

Dear Second Place: You also made your choice that night. You don’t want to sleep with a dog in the bed, period! This man’s reaction to your getting pushed out of the bed? He called you “silly,” and suggested he could get yet another dog to keep the first one company at night. He’s not on your wavelength.

Animal lovers need other animal lovers as their mates. A dog-loving woman might have laughed when she hit the ground, and then gone round the bed and said, “Move over, honey, I’m coming in on your side!”

Why waste time with this mismatched relationship? Why not look for somebody who feels the same way you do? Yes, to a human lover in bed with you, but NO to other animals!

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I’ve been thinking about my ex-girlfriend the last few weeks, and it’s been getting to me. I haven’t spoken with her in some time — ever since she slept with my brother, when I was locked up.

I did try to call her, but I just kept hanging up on her. I’d really like to know why she did that to me.

I’m not mad at her at all, and I can’t stop thinking about it. And get this: I still have a lot of love for her and I don’t know if I want to fix this all up and get back with her, and act like nothing happened at all.

— Been Ruffing, Manitoba

Dear Ruffing: Your protective instincts tell you trust is not possible with this woman. And worse, she’ll stoop low enough to betray you with your own brother. There are far better women in the world. The nervous finger on your hand that pushes the button to hang up before she answers is to be trusted.

You need to find a totally new woman, who is honest in character and doesn’t have it in her to cheat on you — certainly not with your brother! Yes, you may have leftover feelings of fondness for this woman from the time before she betrayed you. But knowing about her and your brother can’t be “pretended” away.

Don’t let laziness send you back to this woman. If she gets away with this and gets you back, you’re forever in jeopardy of another incident with her.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Six years ago I dated a guy I would have married, if he’d asked me. But instead he married a hot little firecracker, and they fight like mad. We still live in the same town, so word gets out.

I heard them having a fight on a golf hole ahead of me recently. She was shrieking at him, and threw his golf ball into the bush. He grabbed her ponytail and dragged her in there to find it, and they didn’t come out for a long time and it got quiet. We were getting close, and ended up skipping that hole.

They showed up later at the golf clubhouse all lovey-dovey. Do you think what I think? My golf buddy says nobody would do something like that at a public golf course.

— Betting They Did, Western Manitoba

Dear Betting: You know what it’s like to love a wild and crazy guy. He overlooked you for a fiery woman. Double the flames! It sounds like they like to play flirting games, and getting mad at each other stokes the heat. Whether they actually went all the way in the bush matters little.

Something happened to this squabbling pair in that bush that took them from furious to lovey-dovey. I’m betting they didn’t waste much time looking for that golf ball.

As for your longtime crush on the guy, you have to let that go. He and his fireball wife have a lively thing going and he won’t be on the market for a long time, and maybe never.

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.