I have a 7 year old dog, have had her from birth.. now living with my boyfriend and he too is not a dog lover, does not like the dog hair on the carpet or when she shakes.. she has short hair.She also has to be close to me most of the time, but she is too big for the lap and bed. He complains about her but he does not torture her. He pets her and feeds her. Again, it is clear he is not a dog lover. What I am getting at is, it is clear the dog must go and I don't mean your beloved pooch. There is a rule that I judge a man, how he treats the waiters/waitress's and how he treats animal's. Look for this kind of man once you dump the current one!

My bf of 7 years has a 7.5 yr. old rotty.

I am a clean person who does not want dogs shaking their hair (and possibly tics) onto my rugs or floors. Nor do I chose to hear them licking themselves in the middle/of/the/night causing me to wake up.The dog has no job, no function; actually no purpose. He doesn't even warn us when someone comes to the door. The bottom line was when he starting pissing on my floors. I threw the dog out and told him if the dog served a greater function in his life than I did; then he could certainly go too. My bf choose to put the dog out to his family garage. The bottom line is this folks "Lyme disease is not a joke, it is a reality". I know people who have gotten bitten by ticks brought into the home. Dogs smell....I like a clean house that smells clean at all times. It all has to do with your level of cleanliness. I dislike the smell of animals in a house, it is my preference. NO HOUSE is thoroughly clean that has an animal living in it.......................

PS....To all you people who equate a child with a dog; there is no comparison, on ANY LEVEL. If you had a child; you would know this.

I cannot understand why and why animal people and nonanimal people even bother trying to get together. To the poster below who said the dog peed in the house, my guess is that the anxiety you caused the dog over the years caused him to have issues. Neurotic people and neurotic dogs don't go together. Clearly a type A super-clean freak does not belong with dogs or cats or probably people because the last time I checked, kids were big germ factories as well.

My wife has two cats and one is more disgusting and annoying than the other. They do God knows what outside and then come in and lay on the floors, furniture and carpets that our 4 month old is on. My wife has no problem with this of course, why I'm not sure, maybe she's crazy.

When the one cat sh*ts on the floor (about every other week) or the other one gorges herself then vomits (generally on the opposite weeks) the only yelling about this that she does is at me for not cleaning it up. I guess Prudie would consider me abusive for not enabling my wife's sickness by not cleaning up after filthy animals that contribute nothing to my life (Oops, not quite right, they contribute annoyance and extra work and expense). It will be the best acting job in my life to keep from breaking out in laughter the day these filthy annoyances die.

I am not an animal hater. I like animals where they belong - outside and in the wild. If the guy in the letter to Dear Prudie is smart HE will get out of this relationship. There's a reason she is 45, unmarried and fawning over a miserable little beast...read the clues and escape while there is still time!

Oh, they ALL do, that's part of the illness. How they can't see that a child grows and progresses through life into adulthood and independence while a dog remains a dog is a amazing in a sad, sad way.

I don't understand people who don't like dogs.

One night, I felt my boyfriend get out of bed. I opened my eyes just a bit and I saw him bend down and pet both of my beautiful, clean, flea and tick free dogs. He said to them "its ok just going to the bathroom". Neither dog got up and followed him as they are a bit lazy and on his return I saw him put his face right next to one of them and say "your a good girl". I decided right then, this was the man for me. He never knew that I woke up that night and I never told him. But that was the first time I knew that I wanted to be his wife. Lucky for me, he asked a couple of days later. Our favorite thing to do is take our three year old and our two dogs to the dog park and watch them play. I am having our second child, and am excited that there is another addition to our family. I know that dogs are not children, but I assure you that I take care of them just as I do my children. No, my house is not totally clean, but that is not because there are dogs, its because we humans live there too.

I agree with that animal lovers and non animal lovers can usually not come to a compromise regarding animals. Personally, if my past boyfriend had made me choose between my dogs and him, I can assure you that it would have been him out the door. No one controls me that much nor would I want to control him that much.

I agree that there are pet-people and non-pet-people. And,the differences go far beyond whether or not an individual likes or dislikes pets. I suspect that when challenged these mixed couples will discover huge value differences that are just not reconcileable. I suspect that:

No pet person can be both sane and a neat freak or germ-o-phobe. But, a non-pet person could make a reasonable attempt at neat and germ free existence.

Pet and non-pet people will differ in how they treat those with less power. Kindness or cruelty.

Pet and non-pet people will differ in whether they place the value of things ahead of the value they place on relationships.

As a pet person, I do not understand neat freaks or germ-o-phobes. Due to our value differences I believe that germ-o-phobes are somewhat delusional and that neat freaks could surely find better uses for their time. (I can not imagine being satisfied if my tombstone read "He kept a neat house".) I know that I have caught far more illnesses from co-workers, associates, and the people I have contact with in daily life. Somehow, I have even found ticks on me when I have walked on the golf course with out my dog!!!

As a parent of a two year-old, I do know that my son has scattered gallons of bodily fluids all over the house and directly onto both me, my wife and even onto our dog. I also know that after a year of daycare, my son has passed far more colds and viruses to us than we have caught from our pets. Despite this I agree with that writer who said there is no comparing the value I place on my son and the value I place on my dog. But, I hope that I will be able to teach my son to appreciate animals so that he can enjoy them the way that we do.

For those who think animals have no use (From the CDC):

Pets can decrease your:

Blood pressure
Cholesterol levels
Triglyceride levels
Feelings of loneliness

Pets can increase your:

Opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities
Opportunities for socialization

Many groups support the health benefits of pet ownership. You can learn more about the health benefits of pets and how to keep your pets healthy by visiting the following sites.

Health Benefits of Pet-Ownership Strengthens Human-Animal Bond The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) issued a statement supporting the health benefits of animal companionship for people.

Health Benefits of Animals The Delta Society provides abstracts, articles, and bibliographies on the health benefits of animals to people.

Health Benefits of Pets, NIH

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Of course, if you are an animal hater it is unlikely that you will open yourself up enough to enjoy these benefits. But the rest of us still do :)

...in the universe. for many people a pet is the only way to love. like giving, love has its own rewards besides lowering blood pressure, etc. it's a purpose and reason to live well. it motivates, it energizes, it exercises the soul, let's the spriit leap..........

i know everybody here is has so many important things to do in life and of course can hire and fire love (in the form of a two legged aquaintence) in the blink of an eye. there are however many people for whom this is not possible, due to various reasons out of their control. to them, a pet is the next best thing. and as a traveler and observer of life, i think a lot of people are better off with the love of a pet, then the disfunctional craziness of their supposed love lifes.

I agree with jeanko. You can tell how a person is by how they treat animals. They are helpless and have endless love for you. Not everyone has to choose to have one as a pet, but it takes more effort to be mean then to ignore them. I am sure that dog has been there for you more then most people. I am sure you can find a kinder, sweeter man that will appreciate you and your pet.

For one thing please stop generalizing dog owners. I have two dogs, I do not equate them to children, I don't even want children so why would I treat my dogs like children...dogs are better than children, I don't have to put them through college and I don't have to find a babysitter if I want to go out. Second, don't assume my house is dirty or smells. I am a very clean person, maybe I'm a little more anal about keeping my house clean than other dog owners, but my house is no more dirty or clean than my friend with 3 kids. Since I am very secure being single, any one I date must like dogs that is non-negotiable.

When a dog shakes it's pretty much impossible to shake off ticks since ticks imbed into the skin. They are pretty easy to find if you brush or even pet a dog regularly.

If you think a pet makes a house unclean, you must be a neurotic germophobe, or in total denial about the amount of bacteria and mites that humans have on their skin. And in our digestive tracts. I've gotten ticks on me, but it was never from a dog, I picked them up all on my own from the woods.

I think that dogs serve a very nice function, they add a little extra play to my life. A cat that poops on the floor once a week? OH NO! Grab a wad of TP and throw it in the toilet. The cats probably poop outside of the litterbox because it's filthy. The way I see it, kids are a helluva lot more work than dogs, so a person who can't handle dogs might be prone to losing their temper with kids.

No, it is not that animals are children, so drop that argument. It is about what a person can tolerate. Are you really so high strung that a fluff of dog hair in the corner, or a cat poop once a week, just sets you in a dark angry cloud all the time? (Have you ever changed diapers?) Maybe you just aren't right for the "dog lover".

No, animals don't contribute anything to the human economy. That's not why most people enjoy them.

I had a boyfirend who could not understand why I had my 15 year old cat and the cat couldn't understand why I had the boyfirend. They really disliked each other. My boyfirend was also a total germ-a-phobe. Having been raised with dogs, cats and kittens and brothers and sisters in a rural setting filled with fun, dirt and general chaos, I don't fear dirt or consider cat hair toxic but I also do not tollerate animals that are dangerous, distructive or ill mannered. That is a completely different issue. Eventually I had to chose between the cat and my boyfriend and chose the one that I had lived with in relative harmony with for 15 years. I haven't regretted sharing my life with just the cat for the last two years. Some people are just not compatable and sharing your living space with a pet is one of those things that some people value and some hate. Why waste both of your lives trying to make something work that isn't good for you both?