Anyone familiar with the PASSIONS cast knows they are huge animal lovers — especially canines. While Galen Gering (Luis) rescued his dogs Wylie and Cosmo and makes regular appearances for New Leash on Life (www.newleash.org), he's got nothing on the ladies in his on-screen love triangle.

McKenzie Westmore (Sheridan) and hubby, musician Seven, just upped their dog count to three with their latest addition: a 4-pound Chihuahua name Buddy from www.chihuahua-rescue.com. "It's now 'Small, Medium and Large,'" she laughs. "Roxie, our terrier, weighs about 20 pounds. We actually got her at Chihuahua Rescue too, but she's dominantly doxie and terrier. Then we have Charlie, who's our great Dane/ridgeback mix, and he's about 100 pounds. It's just hysterical to see the three of them run together."

But Westmore has bigger plans for Buddy than running the yard. "I wanted a boy that I could just put in my handbag and tote around with me everywhere," says Westmore. "And I didn't want a puppy, because I didn't want to go through the puppy stage, which is always what people ask for at Rescue."

Westmore was shown a parade of cuties, but none fit her size limit. But luckily, there was one left who did. "The woman helping me was so wonderful. She said, 'He's been here between two or three years, but no one's wanted him. We think he was hit by a car, so his left leg is out of joint. I'll bring him out if you want me to,'" Westmore remembers — and the rest is history. "As soon as he sat in my lap, I said, 'This is it!' He's all personality. He's hysterical. Now, I have my knock-off Chanel dog bag. It's all padded and quilted for him."

Westmore's content with her three babies, but as far as her on-screen nemesis Kelli McCarty (Beth) is concerned, four woofs is a charm. In fact, she's has been banned from visiting the dog pound, because she's got a problem. It seems every time she goes, her brood grows.

"It's a zoo, definitely, but I wouldn't have it any other way," McCarty laughs. "When Matt and I first got married, he had one dog, Sammy, a Dalmatian, but it never occurred to him that the woman he was marrying was so insane about dogs."

"The first one we got together is Cooper, a mini dachshund," McCarty says, starting her list. "Then we went to the downtown pound and got Birdie. She's a golden retriever/Labrador mix. Then, I was walking dogs for another shelter and I came home with the third one, Marge. She's a terrier mix. She should have been the next Benji. She's really mad about that!" jokes McCarty. "Then Gabrielle. I know this sounds insane, but we're pretty sure that he's a half dachshund/half Labrador. He's small. His body looks like a dachshund, but he acts like a lab and he's got the webbed feet and likes the water and chasing squirrels, which most dachshunds don't."

So what is it like with all those feet pitter-pattering around? "I love it," she swears. "Once they're there, they're there and you can't imagine life with out them. We take them to the park everyday and it doesn't seem like too much. I shouldn't tell you this, but Matt has a tiny little backseat and many days he takes all of them in the car. We don't mind if the cars have mud all over them, because it makes them happy. They love it and our park is two minutes from our house, so we have to go."

She just can't go to the P-O-U-N-D! "It's true, so now I get on the Internet and look up L.A. Animal Services, under Adopt-A-Dog (http://www.ci.la.ca.us/ANI/)," she admits with a laugh. "That's not a good idea for me, either. It causes a lot of drama in my house!"