Beau paying more attention to pets than girlfriend

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/06/2018 (2672 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I’m crazy about my cat and dog, and now they have defected to my new live-in man.

He’s really “workin’ it” trying to take them over. He takes both animals out on separate walks — the cat in a special harness he bought — and feeds them pet goodies and plays ball with both of them.

I just fed them and thought they were lucky to get food and petting a couple times a day. Saves them hunting in garbage cans.

If my guy sleeps with his arm draped over the side of the bed, the dog will come and gently grab it and try to get him up for a morning walk. And he gets up!

My pets have nothing much to do with me now, except to give me a little leftover affection.

The cat might come and sit by me, but prefers sleeping in the stinky man clothes on the floor. Good sniffing.

Before he moved in, my guy was mildly involved with my pets.

Now that he’s part of the family, I find myself lining up with the dog and cat for his affection and precious time.

When we make love, the dog cries when we make noises.

I don’t think for one minute the dog’s worried about me or anyone getting hurt in that bedroom. He just wants my boyfriend to get away from me and go play with him.

I voiced these concerns to my boyfriend and he just laughed at me for being “jealous.”

I tried to make light of it, but the truth is I miss being the centre of his world. If I got rid of the pets, he’d get rid of me for being so cold-hearted.

What can I do?

—Third in Line for His Love, Wolseley

Dear Third in Line: Don’t let the word “jealous” shame you into pretending you’re not. There’s something wrong when you are made to feel jealous of the pets in the house.

You could consider competing on the pet-attention front.

When he walks the dog, you could walk the cat and create quite a spectacle doing it.

You could also have better treats in your pockets.

Once your boyfriend sees the animals are well taken care of by both of you, instead of being ignored by you, maybe he’ll let up on the animal-attention campaign.

Then he’ll have more time for you — or he should.

If not, and you feel truly abandoned by this boyfriend, invite him to create his own animal menagerie elsewhere.

It’s odd he would push this so far and laugh at you about your feelings.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I met a woman when I was on a hike in a well-known park on the edge of town.

We sat by the water and had a great talk about nature, politics and dining out.

In the end, I asked her out and she said, “If I were interested in guys, I’d go out with you, but I’m not. I have a lesbian partner.” Then she got up and flounced off.

I could have sworn she was flirting with me — lots of sexy innuendoes — and then this response.

What kind of game was she playing?

— Confused By Flirty Lesbian, Downtown

Dear Confused: The game might have been “How attractive am I to both sexes?”

The point is she doesn’t want to hang out with you, so just forget about it. She may have been practising her flirting skills, as some married people do on single people at clubs.

Some married people actually have their wedding rings in their pockets, and then walk away righteously in the end.

Just practising indeed!

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.