Zoophobia

Fact # 3: I think I'm slightly zoophobic.

It's not like I'll see a cat and run away screaming, but I do feel a little uneasy around animals.

The first time I visited the Rheins', I didn't see their dog until the morning of the second day. Looked like a small long-haired bear. I paused, my knife half-way through my bagel, watching it very, very cautiously.

I don't pick up the cat. Other people pick up the cat. Just grab her and pet her while the walk the ten feet into the next room. I will occasionally grab her around her middle, and throw her three feet off to the side if she's in a place she's not supposed to be, but never more than that. I'll pet her, but I'm always watching her claws.

Everyone in my family loves horses. Just loves them to pieces. They're okay, except when they're being stubborn and stupid, which is all the time. I haven't met a horse that seems to like me. I hear comments about how whatever horse I'm leading is usually nice. Right... Do you have any idea how big their hoofs are? They could kill a man with one swift kick, he wouldn't have any idea what hit him. (get it? eh? eh?)