Ineptitude, You do seem to have a lot of insight about yourself. I can imagine that the plight of those severely affected patients probably impacted your mood and made you seem like a not-very-fun person to other patients. Looking at life seriously may just be your calling. There is a need for people like that in this world. I think you would be a blessing to the animals. Also, they would be a blessing to you. It's pretty hard to be aloof or frigid, with a wriggling puppy in your lap. (I do know that animal welfare work is not all about cute puppies. You would confront sad things, but you just might have the right stuff to enable you to take that on. Good Luck.)