Category Archives for "Featured Questions"

2 How quickly does Shirelle answer questions?

kavin24 asks: I sent you a question, but I didn’t get your answer. Why is that? How can I see your solutions?

Hi kavin24 –

I’m sorry about that – I get very overwhelmed with all I’m doing (from guarding Handsome’s house to chasing birds to writing stuff for the website), and so I can’t answer questions as quickly as I’d like to.  It usually takes me a few days to get to them.  I try as hard as I can to answer them in less than a week, but sometimes I even fail at that.

But please know I do answer every question I receive.  So if a week ever goes by and you haven’t heard back, please write me again.  Sometimes emails do get lost.  And even my great doggy hearing can’t pick up on the signal!

Thanks for all your questions and interest!  Welcome to the Pack!

Shirelle

0 How to tell a friend they’re dating a jerk

sazuna45 asks: I’m really confused. Two of my friends – close ones – are dating, but I know that the guy is hiding a lot from the girl. He told her he stopped drinking but in parties (when she’s not there) he gets drunk and flirts with other girls like a maniac. He even stole money from one of his friends and bought his girlfriend a bag. He’s on weed and he gets into fights against gangs and all. I know all this but I don’t know if I can tell, because she won’t believe me. What do I do?!

Hi sazuna45 –

Wow are you in a tough place with this question!  I have a few thoughts, but there’s no clear answer.

First – you say both of these are close friends of yours.  Are you sure you want to stay close friends with the boy?  He sounds like a lot of trouble to me.  When you mix drinking to excess, semi-cheating, stealing, drug use, and getting in fights…  Is this guy really one who can, to quote the old song “deserve you and be even worthy erv you”?!  Not to mention your girl friend, who he’s being way less than great to.

So one thing you can do is to Continue reading

0 What do kids need to know about energy?

carina asks: What topics can I teach about energy?

Hi carina –

I’m not sure what age you’re teaching to, but I’m glad you are, because energy is such an important issue today, and we really do want all humans of any age to understand it.

One thing that the youngest really have trouble grasping is how much more the world depends on energy sources than ever before.  Can they even conceive of a world with no computers, no cell phones, and no big-screen TVs?  Or how about a world with no Continue reading

2 What to do when your best friend moves away

prettyndsweet12 asks: My best friend moved today and it made me sad and I’m crying. How can I learn to cope with her being gone? She was my best friend, and school just doesn’t seem right without her.

Hi prettyndsweet12 –

Losing a best friend is always awful.  Whether it’s from an argument, or them moving away, or them being badly hurt, it’s guaranteed to make you feel terrible.  After all, how many things do we value as much as a best friend?  I hate it when I get a piece of chicken and Handsome pulls it out of my mouth (in fear the bones will splinter in my throat), but I get over it.  But some things are irreplaceable.  And Family and Friends top the list.

I’m not going to even begin to try to Continue reading

0 How to make New Year’s Resolutions

kavin24 asks: How can I make my New Year’s Resolutions?

Hi kavin24 –

We dogs don’t think much about our future, so I don’t think any of us make reservations, beyond the “Wow did she get mad when I peed on the couch!  I sure won’t do that again!” variety.

But I think New Year’s Resolutions are a great idea.  You humans are very calendar-oriented, so I hardly ever see people reach the end of a year without thinking back on what they accomplished and didn’t, and what they’re hoping will be different next year.  So what a great time to decide on changes you wish to make to yourself.  Fantastic!  However… at the same time, I see lots of resolutions never Continue reading

2 What to do if you see an animal being abused

Hachiko asks: There’s this dog (a small one) I really want to keep, but my mom won’t let me (In our religion keeping dogs is okay, but they say they’re unpure and better not to keep) and this dog gets beaten by men who work down-stairs. What can I do? I’m just a girl who can’t disobey her parent’s 🙁

Hi Hachiko –

Of course, being a dog, it’s tough for me to talk from the point of view of those who don’t think we’re just the best things around.  But I have to acknowledge that they’re out there, and that they have the right to their opinions.

Someday, you’ll be an adult, and you’ll have the right to make decisions for yourself, like whether or not to have a dog as a pet.  But for now, you’re right, you can’t have it in your parents’ home.  It’s sad, but true.

But there’s another issue here.  Which is that you’re witnessing an Continue reading

0 What is God’s love like?

prince maxwell asks: What is God’s love of man like?

Hi prince maxwell –

Dogs don’t adhere to any specific religions.  I am not a Jew or a Christian or a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Wiccan, or Atheist.  It’s not that I disagree with any particular religions; it’s just that my brain doesn’t work that way, as human brains do.

But that’s not to say that I don’t have a sense of the Divine.  As a dog, I live in a constant sense of awe and gratitude.  And the way I see it, when humans gain a strong sense of God’s love, it puts them into the mindset that we dogs are in all the time.

So when you ask me what God’s love of man is like, my answer is: look out your Continue reading

0 How to confront someone you believe robbed you

Hachiko asks: I have a feeling my house maid stole my earphones. I saw her with them twice (not directly though, like when she wears her scarf I saw a white thing – my ear-phones are white – and when I asked to see what it was, she put it in her bra!) I know I’m just a kid but I don’t like seeing people steal or lie. Also, she has friends here who she can just give things to and hide them. I figure that since you’re a dog and dogs are great in catching thieves, you’d have some good advice! 😉

Hi Hachiko –

I don’t know if there’s anything worse than losing trust in someone.  We all live our lives assuming we know who we can trust and who we can’t.  It’s as much a part of our comfort in our homes as our beds.  And when we suddenly stop trusting someone close to us, it’s just like a leg on our bed breaking.  Everything feels insecure and un-level.  And life becomes really miserable.

Of course I have no idea whether this woman stole your earphones, or if you accidentally lost them and she was hiding something else.  What I do know is that, if she did take them, your asking her about that “white thing” means she knows you’re suspicious of her.  (If she didn’t take them, she probably has no Continue reading

0 What can a kid do when life at home becomes unbearable?

RebGijey asks: I’m a 12-year-old kid and my parents are always fighting. They have tons of problems, and always drag me into them, and so I get psychologically, emotionally, physically and mentally affected – even in my studies and school activities. I’ve told them that I’m now planning to move away from them and stay in an apartment or dorm in our school, but they couldn’t even care less. Now, I just need a job to pay my rent. PLEASE HELP ME!!!

Hi RebGijey –

I don’t know where you live, RebGijey, so I can’t speak about the laws on child labor, or about a 12-year-old’s rights to live on their own.  But I can sure say this – your situation sounds AWFUL!

It is possible that your home life could be so bad that the police or some social workers could demand that you be allowed to live elsewhere.  But I don’t know if they could guarantee that you’d be able to stay at the same school.

I feel a little helpless, as there’s just so much I don’t know.  But the main idea that strikes me is about your Continue reading

0 What can a child of an unhappily-married couple do to help their parents?

Hachiko asks: My parents are married to each other but they don’t love each other. And maybe that’s why I cry sometimes. What should I do? They’re just married because in our country people have to get married (love ‘em or not).

Hi Hachiko –

The situation you’re describing is very sad.  And sad for everyone, not just you, and not just your parents.  It’s very common too.

When people get married, they almost always either feel in love with each other, or feel good enough about each other that they believe they’ll feel more love as time goes by.  And as we all know, that feeling almost always changes over time.  And when it does, they can either split up (through separation or divorce), or work on improving the relationship, or just stick with each other with no improvement.  As you can probably imagine, I like the Continue reading