Dear Annie: My love life is a disaster. Ten years ago, I had a long-distance relationship with a lady. On Thanksgiving night, I was on the couch with her struggling with whether I should propose. I sensed that my employer would soon cut my job and I would not be able to support either her or myself. Two minutes before my ride home showed up, she asked me whether I had thought about marriage. Stammering, I replied, “I wanted to make sure I had tenure first.” I didn’t get a chance to explain my answer.

The next time I saw her, I accidentally rubbed her the wrong way. In the very second I was about to explain how employment uncertainty had caused my answer regarding marriage, she got up and ran out the door. Two days later, I was laid off. Finding long-term employment has been a 10-year struggle. Seeing as both of us wanted marriage and employment issues were what got in the way, should I try contacting her or let things be? — Former Lover

Dear Former Lover: Before you contact her, get in touch with yourself. Are you sure you’re not just using this woman as a lifeline in the “disaster” that is your current love life? Because that wouldn’t be fair to her.

If you are truly in love with this woman and ready to finally commit, call her today, right now. See whether she’ll meet with you so you two can sit down and finish this conversation once and for all. No more running out the door, literally or figuratively. Good luck.

Dear Annie: As we enter the dog days of summer, please remind your readers to take care of their dogs. Leaving a dog in the car is dangerous, especially this time of year. Today I was walking through the grocery parking lot and saw two instances in which a dog was trapped in a car, panting. I took down the license plate numbers and went into the store and had someone make an announcement. Fortunately, the owners came right out.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, on a 72-degree day, the inside of a car can heat up to 116 degrees within an hour. On an 80-degree day, the inside of a car can heat up to 99 degrees within 10 minutes! And rolling a window down does little to decrease the temperature. I hope you will share this information with your readers. It might prevent some tragedies. — Concerned for Canines

Dear Concerned for Canines: Thank you for this letter. You did the right thing by alerting someone in the store. You should also contact the authorities when you see an animal overheating in a car, as they can come rescue the animal and give you instructions on what to do until they arrive. The Humane Society offers more information on this subject, as well as tips to keep your dog adequately cool all summer long, on its website (http://www.humanesociety.org). And if you want to really get tails wagging, try its recipe for peanut butter “pup-sicles.”

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.