>One guest, the girlfriend of a friend, made herself quite unpopular with me
>when, after barely touching Pearlie, she WASHED HER HANDS right in front of
>me.  I was only icily polite to her after that.
 
Denise,
 
Just a thought ... but she may have washed her hands because she is allergic
to animals.  I'm allergic to practically anything with fur, and whenever I
handle an animal (my own included), I quickly wash my hands afterwards to
avoid giving myself pink eyes and other allergy symptoms.
 
If I handle someone else's animals, I usually explain to them that I'm
allergic so that they won't be offended by this ... but I've probably
forgotten to explain it before, too.  Just my two cents' worth.
 
- Ela
[Posted in FML issue 1979]