{"id":2062,"date":"2026-06-14T08:06:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T08:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062"},"modified":"2026-06-14T08:06:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T08:06:05","slug":"dear-abby-i-revealed-my-health-concern-he-talked-about-himself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062","title":{"rendered":"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

DEAR ABBY:<\/strong> My significant other of 16 years is fighting cancer. I am proud of his determination.<\/p>\n

Read more Mexican volunteers search for Nancy Guthrie remains after anonymous tip<\/a><\/p>\n

I recently had an EKG, and my results weren\u2019t great. When I told him, he turned it right around to his own issues.<\/p>\n

Am I selfish for being upset about this? I have catered to him through it all, driven him to his appointments and waited on him hand and foot. I doubt you\u2019ll answer this post, but I\u2019m submitting it anyway.<\/p>\n

\u2014 FRUSTRATED IN MAINE<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR FRUSTRATED:<\/strong> Oh, ye of little faith! No, you are not selfish. You are rightfully concerned about your own health as well as your significant other\u2019s and realize how centered on himself he is.<\/p>\n

What, if anything, you decide to do about this is up to you. But if you need someone to watch your back and are feeling a breeze back there, you might want to depend less on him. Sit down with him, have a serious chat and map out a strategy that\u2019s beneficial to you both.<\/p>\n

DEAR ABBY<\/strong>: Would you please do a much-needed public service for those of us who have a service dog?<\/p>\n

Service dogs are trained to perform specific tasks for their handlers. Tasks can include smelling dangerously high or low glucose levels, smelling mood swings, anxiety and depression, smelling an impending seizure and many other tasks.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Service dogs are not family pets. Here in New Mexico and in many other states, it is a crime to misrepresent a dog as one.<\/p>\n

Read more Margaret Kerry, actress who inspired Tinker Bell, dies at 97<\/a><\/p>\n

A service dog in training has the same access rights as one that\u2019s fully trained. The dog cannot be denied access. Hotels that charge extra for pets cannot charge extra for a service dog. Airlines must allow service dogs to fly free of charge. They cannot be denied access to any public facility.<\/p>\n

The handler must be in control of the animal at all times. Service dogs that bark excessively must be taken out of the facility. A single \u201cwoof\u201d is not excessive barking.<\/p>\n

Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, only two questions are allowed: \u201cIs that a service dog?\u201d and \u201cWhat task is the dog trained to perform?\u201d Questions about the handler\u2019s disability or need for a service dog are not allowed. My dog in training is learning how to alert me to specific medical conditions and respond to assist me.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Many people are unaware of proper behavior around service dogs. Never distract, talk to or pet the service dog. Do not make eye contact with it either. Distracting my dog could cause a serious problem for me.<\/p>\n

\u2014 AWARENESS ADVOCATE<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR ADVOCATE:<\/strong> Thank you for your instructive letter about service dog responsibilities and etiquette. I hope it will prove useful to my readers because there appears to be some confusion about this subject, due to so many dog owners cheating the system by representing their pets as service animals.<\/p>\n

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Kurtenbach: A miracle header saved the Bay Area\u2019s first 2026 World Cup game from being a total disaster<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Abby: Am I selfish for being upset by my partner’s reaction?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nDear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself. - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself. - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Abby: Am I selfish for being upset by my partner's reaction?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-14T08:06:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-14T08:06:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062\"},\"wordCount\":576,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Advice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062\",\"name\":\"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself. - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-14T08:06:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":614},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2062#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself. - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself. - Next City Digest","og_description":"Dear Abby: Am I selfish for being upset by my partner's reaction?","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-14T08:06:05+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself.","datePublished":"2026-06-14T08:06:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062"},"wordCount":576,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp","articleSection":["Advice"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062","name":"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself. - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-14T08:06:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/da2b25e1d5f51854817d4fde3f343c6c.webp","width":1024,"height":614},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2062#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dear Abby: I revealed my health concern. He talked about himself."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/88"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}