FEATURES
6A
Is the dog or house to blame?
Dear Annie: My boyfriend and I
recently moved in together. We were
spending so many nights at each oth-
er’s place that we decided it just made
sense. We both gave up our studio
apartments for a cute little house.
It even has a yard, albeit a tiny one,
which is great for my golden retriever.
That brings me to the reason I’m
writing in: My boyfriend seems to
be severely allergic to the dog. I’m
stumped. I’ve had her for years, and
in all the time my boyfriend spent
at my old apartment, this was never
a problem. I used to take her over to
his place, too. We’ve lived at the new
house for three months, and he’s had
a stuffy nose the entire time. His eyes
get itchy and watery, too. His symp-
toms seem to disappear when he goes
out. He’ll only take antihistamines
right before bed because they knock
him out.
I love my man, but I also love my
dog, and I don’t want to give her up.
What should I do? — Dog Lover
Dear Dog Lover: Don’t be so
quick to blame the dog! The culprit
could be any number of things. You
mentioned that your boyfriend’s aller-
gies only started acting up once you
moved in to the new place. That tells
me it’s probably a household aller-
gen that’s causing his symptoms —
perhaps mold or dust. His doctor can
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ing agency and possibly art directing
some projects, too. It’s a well-known
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folio. One of my professors used to
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work there and referred me for the
Annie
position.
Lane
It’s a great opportunity, to be sure,
and I think the job sounds exciting,
Creators
but it’s so far away, and I don’t want
Syndicate
to leave my friends and family. I can’t
Inc.
even imagine a life outside this town.
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or should I give up everything I know
refer him to an allergist for testing.
Whatever the trigger ends up for a job? — Scared to Leave the Nest
Dear Scared: Let’s try a thought
being, you both will most likely need
to embrace your inner clean freaks. experiment. Imagine yourself 10
Vacuuming, dusting, washing linens years from now living in your home-
and wiping down counters will help town, having never left it. Are you
keep aggravating particles at bay. A happy? Comfortable? Restless?
great byproduct of this vigilance? A Feeling as if your career has already
reached a plateau? Wondering what
spankin’-clean house.
Dear Annie: I went to college in you missed out on?
For me, it would have been a lit-
my hometown and was able to save
some money by living at home. I tle of all the above. I love my fam-
sometimes wish I’d gotten the dorm ily, but if I had stayed in my home-
experience, but mostly I am happy town because it was safe, there would
with my decision. It’s always nice always have been a little voice in the
having Mom and Dad to take care of back of my head asking, “What else?”
Your 20s are for taking risks,
you. Plus, it helped me stay focused.
growing as a person and testing your
Never partied too much.
,Q0D\,¿QLVKHGP\GHJUHHDQG limits. There will never be a better
almost immediately, I was offered time to up and move across the coun-
a job across the country. It’s exactly try. If it doesn’t work out, you can
the type of thing I want to be doing always come back. That’s the beauty
— graphic designing at an advertis- of home. Bon voyage, little birdie!
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016
Tomorrow’s horoscope
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Someone
near you is lonelier than you know, but you
can help. It won’t take much. Children aren’t
the only ones who are fortified by social de-
velopment efforts.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). There’s a
time and a place for self-scrutiny, but that’s
for another day. Right now, rest assured
there is absolutely nothing to be gained
from focusing on what you did wrong. Con-
sider your successes and build on them.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The thing that
will give you the most energy and motiva-
tion today will be something quite out of the
ordinary. Travel off your usual path to spar-
kle up your mind’s eye.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your fa-
vorite people will be around, and you’ll all
have time to enjoy each other, too. This is
the best combination! It doesn’t happen
smoothly like this all the time, and you will
appreciate the moments. Tonight will get
even better.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). It will feel as
though things are really starting to happen
for you. Whether or not you see the hard ev-
idence for this now, there’s a vision in your
head that’s starting to solidify in real time.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Like most
socially successful people, you spend so
much time effectively controlling and cen-
soring yourself to cater to the company
you’re in that when you finally find yourself
with a kindred spirit, it’s an absolute party.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Once you work
yourself into a good mood, it will prove to be
so much more than a good mood; you will
exist in an optimal state of being for a long
stretch. Is this because of the exercise?
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). At certain
times of the day your thoughts will be a
whirlpool. Now, what’s at the vortex of this
swirl? If it’s something wonderful, you might
want to let yourself get dragged into it. If not,
seek higher ground.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). It’s
easier to be organized when you don’t have
or want much, when the distractions are few
and when your hours to work on what mat-
ters are many. It won’t happen naturally, but
how can you make it happen?
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). A few
things will be accomplished piece by piece,
but a lot of things will be finished with a sys-
tem. Set it up so you can scale it up. If your
life were a factory, what would that look like?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your most
sincere wish is for the people you love to
find happiness, be at peace, and experi-
ence beauty — preferably, with you as a
key component to the dynamic. If not, is this
still your wish?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your inside
world is a landscape, some of which is love-
ly, as you have cultivated with mental gar-
dening; still, much of it is wild. There will be
an opportunity to grab your weed whacker
and go to town.
FRIDAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 22). Your
solar return comes with a deep sense of
flourishing. You’ll watch and learn from the
best over the next 10 weeks so that you can
deliver a state-of-the-art product and reap
the rewards of excellence. Family, love and
music fill your year-end. A financial reorga-
nization effort will help other areas of life.
Capricorn and Aquarius adore you. Your
lucky numbers are: 13, 39, 4, 26 and 11.