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Ask Amy: Holiday hostess wants guests to pitch in

By Amy Dickinson, Tribune Content Agency on

According to a study conducted by the Smithsonian and published in 2013, "...from 6.9 billion to as many as 20.7 billion mammals -- mainly mice, shrews, rabbits and voles -- are killed by cats annually in the contiguous 48 states."

The study further concluded that cats that live in the wild (or indoor pets allowed to roam outdoors) kill from 1.4 billion to as many as 3.7 billion birds in the continental U.S. each year. (Each year!)

If you want your cat to experience the outdoors, take it outside on a leash. Do not allow it to roam on its own.

Dear Amy: I know I'm late weighing in on the topic of strangers demanding that people should "smile!" but I'd like to share a story.

Five years ago, a stranger in a gas station said to me, "Smile. It can't be that bad. What? Did your puppy die?"

Amy, my son had died two weeks earlier. That encounter was my first attempt at leaving the house. It was months before I was able to try again.

 

Telling a stranger to smile can be far more detrimental than most people seem to realize.

-- Grieving Mom

Dear Grieving: None of us can know what pain a stranger is enduring. My heartfelt condolences to you and your family.

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(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)


 

 

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