Gal must choose dog or dude

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Updated: August 1, 2012 2:26AM

Q. I adopted my Jack Russell terrier mix eight years ago from our local humane society. She is the sweetest dog. She usually ends up loving most men, but my boyfriend of two years has been a different story.

When he comes around, she pees on herself. She snaps at him if he tries to sit on the couch by me. He yells at her constantly. He bans her from chairs, couches and rooms. Sometimes I come home early, and he has locked her in the bathroom. When I open the door, she’s in the corner just shivering. I love my dog very much, and I’m honestly bothered by the way she reacts to him and how he treats her.

However, both human parties in this situation have their strengths and weaknesses. The boyfriend has every right to a dog-free zone. Yet he chose a relationship with a woman and her dog. And the woman has every right to her beloved pet.

Now the man doesn’t want the dog hair. The woman doesn’t want to keep rescuing her Jack Russell from the bathroom. Each party can shed the problem with an “OK.”

Dog Lady never presumes to tell anyone whom to love or not. In this case, however, the dog is a stalking horse in to the future of this teetering relationship. Better for everyone to move on.

Q. I love your (reader’s) idea of leaving a warning/info card on the windshield of cars with dogs left inside. When I see a dog parked in a parked car, I usually stay a few minutes to observe. If the owner does not return, I call the local police. In one instance, a woman was inside a restaurant having coffee while her dog panted in the locked car..

A. Folks, please don’t leave your dogs behind.