Dear Amy: My parents have a problem.
My younger brother and his wife have two large dogs.
They live three hours away from my parents.
When they come to visit, they usually bring one dog and leave the other at a kennel because Mom has told them that two large dogs are just too much for her home to handle.
Lately they have been telling my parents that they won’t come unless they can bring both dogs.
It is upsetting for my parents, who never had dogs in their home, to make that choice. My elderly mother is very neat and likes her home to be clean. The extra work that these dogs make tires her out.
My father is also elderly and finds the extra commotion hard to handle. The dogs bark and lie underfoot. My father is unsteady on his feet, and we are afraid that if he falls over one of these dogs, he will seriously hurt himself.
How can my parents handle this situation without alienating their son? — Concerned Daughter
Dear Daughter: It might be best for you to mediate this.
You should call your brother and explain your concerns about your parents’ health and well-being.
Your brother is already being selfish, but if he is also ignorant about the impact of this sort of disruption and hazard on your elderly parents, then you should educate him.
Perhaps there is a kennel close to your parents’ house that you can investigate on your brother’s behalf and recommend to him. Perhaps your brother’s wife can stay home with the dogs so that he can visit his folks for a day or two.
If your brother really wanted to, he could cope with this inconvenience far more easily than your folks are able to, and you should encourage him to grow up already and do so.
Dear Amy: I have a message for all those people who are glued to their cellphones: Hang up! You’re not that important! I’m sick and tired of being interrupted at church, the theater (the opera, of all places!) and just generally annoyed by people who yak, yak, yak on their cellphones no matter where they are and who else is around them.
But my biggest complaint is patients who insist on carrying on casual conversations during medical testing! I work for a busy hospital, and cellphone abuse is really getting out of hand. Not only do cellphones interfere with most medical equipment, but also they are extremely distracting to the person performing the medical procedure.
Doing our jobs is challenging enough without the disruptions and distractions — and it’s just plain rude! — Off the Hook in New Orleans
Dear Off the Hook: I can always find space in this column for a cellphone rant, so thank you.
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