DEAR ABBY: I recently attended a birthday dinner celebration for my father at my brother and his girlfriend's home. While the girlfriend, "Cheryl," was eating, she speared a bite of her food with her fork and then held it down to the floor for the dog to eat. Then she put another bite of food onto her fork and ate it. This continued throughout the dinner, with Cheryl and the dog alternating bites off the same fork.
When she was finished eating, she placed her dinner plate on the floor for the dog to finish eating. It was revolting. Dad and I just sat there, stunned, and stopped eating, not knowing how sanitary the plates and dinnerware were. How would you have handled this? -- HORRIFIED IN HOUSTON
DEAR HORRIFIED: I would have handled it as you did, having lost my appetite, too. However, if your brother and his girlfriend have a dishwasher with an extra-hot and sanitizing cycle, the plates were probably "safe" to eat from. (Yech!)