Dear Dr. Forsythe: I just returned home from a visit to my children in Sonoma for Halloween and I was surprised at a passenger on my flight. She had taken out her dog and was passing her around to all the other people in her row. At first I thought it was a stuffed animal, but after asking the stewardess, I was informed this was a Havanese puppy. Are people allowed to take a puppy on the plane and then pass it around like a hors d’oeuvre? I was appalled. What if the puppy pooped or peed? What if it had fleas? What if someone had allergies? I was particularly surprised by how saccharine sweet the airline employees were and even wanted to hold the puppy. I’m glad there was no airline food; I would surely have had dog hair in mine!
No Place for Pets
Dear No Place: Bah humbug!! You sound like a grumbly passenger; I hope you had a good trip besides witnessing an adorable puppy being passed around like an hors d’oeuvre. I must confess while it is a little bold to take a puppy out of the under-seat carrier and pass it around to fellow passengers, if someone handed me a little puppy like that while I was flying the friendly skies, I’d probably want to take a little nibble out of the thing!
Havanese puppies are like little fluffy wind-up dust mops, how on earth could you feel irritation when in the company of one? Also, I can assure you in this grumpy age of financial stress, mortgage meltdowns, and airlines which do not accept baggage, flight attendants — that’s what they’re called now — who are happy and attentive are a welcome sight to most of us.
If this pet had pooped, they’d have cleaned it up. Fleas? I doubt the puppy had them. Allergies? If anyone had been irritated, they could have spoken up, and politely asked for the puppy to be kept in his crate. The idea of you stewing like something from a crock pot makes me feel so badly for you. For anyone to be “appalled” by an innocent little puppy on a plane, I would recommend therapy, antidepressants or some other outlet such as great exercise so you can get your endorphins flowing. Sorry to be so harsh, but I’m very opinionated on this one.
Dr. F
Dear Dr. Forsythe: I have developed allergies to my cat, Roswell. He is a happy wonderful cat and we have been together for three years. My runny nose and sneezing has been awful and my doctor suggested I get rid of him. I’ve tried antihistamines and I can’t sleep at night. The guilt is terrible but even letting him out during the day; I can’t live under the same roof. What should I do?
Loves My Cat
Dear Loves My Cat: If I were going through this, I would make sure my doctor had tried all the available medications for allergies, and see if appropriate grooming could improve the situation. After exhausting all of those options, and knowing I had done everything I could to maintain our good-loving relationship, I would try to find a close friend or relative to take Roswell. This way, he would still be in the family, so you could visit from time-to-time and keep up on his progress and magnificence. After all, from his viewpoint, life revolves around him, doesn’t it? I mean, as long as you can continue to donate to his cause, observe his pathway to further enlightenment, and acknowledge his perfection, while still not sneezing your frontal lobe out, the two of you should be able to maintain a relationship. So how about asking every great person you know if they want a wonderful cat? Let me know how this works out, OK?
Dr. F.
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