I am kind of shy too except that I have been in retail for around five long years. I joke to my co-workers that I have my people skills. Some days they come natural. Other days, I just can't seem to fake it. I had a customer today ask me how I was. I replied "altright." He/she replied that I wasn't very convincing. Since I thought I was in an okey mood, I was rather puzzled by this person's response. I have been getting that more lately because of my odd problem. I sometimes think customers expect me to always be happy and know the answer to their questions. I sometimes have to ask someone else because I work mostly in food, the cash register, photo and answering phones.
As for pets, I have a cat with diabetes. I get all my hugs at church or from my cat. I sometimes do miss physical contact with humans though. I really enjoy my cat, Taffy. She even sleeps with me despite the fact that I spend almost half the night awake.