DR. WALLACE: My parents promised me that I could have a pet for Christmas. They said I should make a list of three pets I'd like and they would make sure I'd have one of them to love on December 25. I chose a kitty, a puppy and a bunny. But Christmas has come and gone and I didn't' get a pet.

My father has read somewhere that pets can pose a health problem, so now he's not so sure he wants me to have one. A lot of my friends have pets and I have not heard one peep about any of them causing health problems to their family.

Do pets pose a health problem to humans? — Tammy, Portland, Maine

TAMMY: There's a slight risk in almost everything we do, from going on a drive to eating in a restaurant. Yes, pets have caused health problems for their owners on rare occasions, but the risk is no more than 1,000 to 1, according to most veterinarians.

Not only are the vast majority of pets healthy and risk-free, but also, their presence in a household actually promotes health. Pet owners suffer less from stress and other mental-health problems and recover more quickly from traumas such as heart attack than those who have no pet, doctors tell us.

Forty percent of American and Canadian families have at least one family member who barks, meows, chirps, squeaks, slithers, or croaks, and they are happier for having their family pet.

YOUR FRIEND MADE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING

DR. WALLACE: I'm 16 and my boyfriend is 17. We've been together for six months and see each other every day. Brad is the only boy I have ever cared for and I think I actually love him.

Last week I was sick with the flu and didn't see him for three days. These were the worst three days of my young life. He called me every day, but that's not the same.

Now comes my problem. My best friend said she saw Brad sitting next to the same girl every day during lunch and they were both smiling and laughing a lot. When I grilled Brad about this, he laughed and said that if the day comes when he can't talk to anyone he chooses, he will end our relationship.

Now I don't know what to do. I don't want Brad to break up with me. That would be traumatic. But I also want to know if he was playing footsie with Snow White. What should I do? — T.J. Worland, Wyo.

T.J.: Some problems are real and some of them we manufacture out of thin air. Your problem with Brad certainly falls into the latter category. And your best friend went way out of her way to make something out of nothing.

Brad wouldn't have spent six months courting you and calling every day while you were ill if he didn't think you were special. Making an issue out of his smiling at Snow White during lunch will all but guarantee a rapid end to the relationship.

SHAME ON YOU FOR BEING CURIOUS

DR. WALLACE: Lance and I broke up because he was a jerk and treated me like dirt. My life has been wonderful ever since the day that I told him to get lost. Now one of my friends has gone out with him and has told me that he has changed and is a nice guy who wants to go out with me again. She said I should expect a call from him soon.

I don't have any feelings for him, but I'm curious to see how he has changed. Should I go out with him if he calls? - Rosa, El Paso, Tex.

ROSA: Absolutely not! Shame on you for being so curious.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.