Dear Abigail

This letter, seeking help from a newspaper advice column, could very well have appeared in any local newspaper.  Please read the letter, discuss, and decide how to respond to “Trying But Not Succeeding”.  Select someone to share your group’s response during a whole class discussion.

Dear Abigail, 
My slightly forgetful neighbor has a very cute little dog named Tassie. Mrs. Lizdale tries to take good care of her companion, but she is quite elderly and can’t walk very well.  Many times she puts her dog outside and then forgets about him, or I think maybe she falls asleep.  Tassie ends up outside for long periods of time, sometimes in extreme heat or cold, without shelter, water, or food.  He also runs around the neighborhood and has almost been hit by cars.


A few times I have put a bowl of water by Mrs. Lizdale’s back door, hoping she would see it and keep it filled for Tassie, but the water bowl has never been refilled.

Once I even heard him barking outside in the middle of the night.  I let him in my garage and gave him water, and then returned him home the next morning.  Mrs. Lizdale didn’t even remember that she had put him out the night before!

I hoped that after this traumatic experience she would be more careful about putting him out, but he has been outside overnight several times since then.

Now I just ignore the dog because I’m tired of getting up in the middle of the night. I hope her family members or another neighbor will tell her that she should take better care of her dog.

I like Mrs. Lizdale, I’m very concerned about her dog, but the barking at night and the worry that something bad will happen to Tassie is driving me crazy!

What can I do?

Signed:
Trying But Not Succeeding