>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]