I am feeling a lot better about the whole Ste. Genevieve experience today. Genny is bossy, says her new foster mother, so really it's not anything I failed at. The two dogs were just destined to not get along. Next time I try to foster, it'll be a male who won't challenge Java.

I've been wondering where the love of animals comes from. Is it hereditary? Learned? If it's hereditary, it would make sense because both my grandmothers were animal lovers. My Nana always had a cat; sometimes a dog. They were always neurotic, though. My Grammy, who died when I was almost 4, had tons of dogs - literally. She had Newfoundlands. I can still remember how that house smelled. There was a lot of hair and a lot of slobber. She didn't mind, though. My uncle James also had the animal-lover gene. His dogs were his family. My Dad liked animals but I don't think he got the gene. Same thing with my Mom. I know that I definitely have the animal-lover gene, if there is one. I like kids but never wanted any of my own. I just want dogs, cats and the occasional goldfish.