'Bold and Beautiful' Gets Harry. Who Is Your Favorite Soap Opera Pet?

The Bold and the Beautiful recently added a furry new character, Harry, the son of the show's new stalker, Zoe, and her ex, Xander Avant. In his scenes so far, Harry has been played perfectly by (appropriately named) Purrfect, and I jokingly referred to him on Twitter as my favorite new soap opera character in ages.

It brought to mind the many random pets on soaps over the years, such as Todd Manning's parrot, a blue and gold macaw parrot named Moose, on One Life to Live; Daisy Cortlandt's cat, Bonkers, on All MY Children; and Victor Newman's trusty Young and the Restless dog, Zapata, who discovered his owner after he had an epileptic seizure. Another World's Felicia Gallant had a number of dogs over the years, including Bibi, Daisy and Paris. The list goes on and on.

Legendary soap writer Claire Labine once said it seemed "natural" to see pets on soaps.

"A lot can be conveyed by the interaction of pets with human characters," explained Labine.

Do you have a favorite soap opera pet from the past? Check out some clips below to refresh your memory.

'General Hospital' Actress Minae Noji Named APOPO's First Ever Ambassador

Minae Noji

The multi-talented Minae Noji--who recently returned to ABC soap opera General Hospital as Dr. Kelly Lee--has just been named the first ever Ambassador for APOPO, a non-­profit dedicated to solving pressing humanitarian and global problems and inspire positive social change with detection rats technology.

As Ambassador, Noji will be advocating on behalf of APOPO, spreading awareness of global problems and APOPO's detection rats technology, and sharing stories about the organization's impact.

"For a long time I've been on a quest to find an organization that made a difference in this world through my love of rats," Noji said in the official news release. "Then I heard of APOPO and it was as if the clouds opened up and the rattie Gods heard my call. It was a serendipitous moment."

Noji recently did a short APOPO video for their #ReThinkRats campaign. Watch it below:

Deidre Hall, Camren Bicondova Among Celebrities Participating in Hallmark Channel's 'Paw Star Game'

Camren Bicondova - Photo Credit: Copyright 2015 Crown Media
United States, LLC/Photographer: Michael Simon

Don't miss the kittens of summer as they claw their way to home base in the first-ever Paw Star Game, airing Sunday, July 12 at 5 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel.

Hosted by Beth Stern, TV personality and national spokesperson for North Shore Animal League America, Paw Star Game brings a star-studded lineup that includes legendary New York Yankees radio voice John Sterling and award-winning reporter and sports analyst Mary Carillo as the official play-by-play announcers.

Paw Star Game is presented in association with North Shore Animal League America and Last Hope Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation. As the kittens take the field to swat balls and catch line drives, they will be cheered on by celebrities including Ed Asner, Maria Menounos, Mario Lopez, Al Roker, Heather McDonald, Tricia Helfer, Deidre Hall (Days of our Lives), Dawn Olivieri and Camren Bicondova (Gotham).

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from We Love Soaps!

Colleen Zenk On The Cover of Bird Talk Magazine

Now this is a cover I can endorse. For those who don't know, I am a bird lover with two parrots -- Nimbus, an African Grey who says "I love you" and kisses while I'm watching the soaps, and Logan, an Eclectus who squawks like it is pure torture. Anyway, one of those few magazines mentioned earlier that I am a subscriber for is Bird Talk. They have very interesting articles on a variety of subjects including how to train your birds. Their methods, unfortunately, are lost on my "kids".

What a pleasant surprise to see longtime As the World Turns actress Colleen Zenk (Barbara) sharing the cover this month with a couple of conures. I had no idea she had or liked birds. I've been a 30 year fan and now I like her even more!

Along with Shetland sheepdogs, a Somali cat, an African pygmy hedgehog, Zenk has a large aviary with Lady Gouldian finches, orange cheeks, cordon blues, owl finches, shaft tails and diamond doves. She also has Sydney, a rose-breasted cockatoo.

Zenk credits her birds with helping her get through the trying times in her battle with oral cancer.

Her aviary started with Leonardo Da Vinci, a red-factor canary that needed a friend. She thought, "This might be really fun; having different finches living all together."

She got a large aviary flight cage and introduced more finches and canaries pair by pair. "My kids were ready to kill me," Zenk said, when she described how her family reacted toward her newfound love of birds. "They used to say 'Mom, you can't even play with them!'"

It's easy to tell why birds hold such a special place in Zenk's heart. "The day after my initial surgery [for my cancer], three little chicks were born," Zenk shared. "The birds helped me up every morning to cook their food. They gave me purpose."

When she is busy with ATWT, her husband and kids help out. "The birds are my job. But when I am at work, my husband chips in to help."

Zenk's ATWT character, the one and only Barbara Ryan, is no stranger to animals as well. Former cast members include a puppy, a goat and a rabbit. There was also that bull ring scene in the early 80s and her run in with a black bear on the 50th anniversary show.