HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: Can dogs tell time?

— Jessie S., age 12,

Rockport, Texas DEAR READER: Dogs react to the circadian rhythm, the pattern of light and dark over the course of a day, and this is how they “tell time.”

Keeping your dog on a schedule is important. Meals, walks and playtime should be at the same time each night; this is another way the dog will know what time it is.

Studies have shown that the longer you’re away from your dog, the more excited your pet is to see you.

DEAR HELOISE: I know that the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800273-8225) is becoming more well known, but if someone is like me and prefers texting to talking, or finds themselves unable to talk, they can text “HOME” to 741741 (Crisis Text Line). I have found this helpful on several occasions when I felt alone or was thinking dark thoughts. — Kerri, via email

DEAR HELOISE: Please do not encourage people to leave shopping carts in or adjacent to handicapped-accessible spaces, as a reader did in a recent column. Individuals totally dependent on wheelchairs and walkers need more space to enter and exit their vehicles.

This is especially true for individuals with wheelchair-accessible vans. For these individuals, the additional clearance provided in handicapped-accessible parking spaces is a necessity, and is lost when littered with shopping carts.

— Mary F., via email

DEAR READER: Thanks for your input. We all need to consider this. Readers, here’s another letter on this issue:

DEAR HELOISE: In response to the reader who couldn’t find a cart at the market: I talked to my store’s manager, and he gave me the store phone number to put in my phone.

Whenever I go shopping, I give the store a call and tell them where I’m parked (usually in the handicapped-accessible slot), and they bring me a cart immediately.

— S.C., Sun Valley, Calif.

DEAR READERS: Did you know that the prune used to be called the “dried plum” because the word “prune” had a bad connotation? Prunes are power-packed with nutrition and antioxidants, and are beneficial for your digestive tract. So whatever you choose to call it, give the prune a try.

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email

Heloise@Heloise.com