While I loved animals I was also scared of some of them when I was a kid- e.g. cats- after I put my hands in what I now can recognize as cat diarrhea in my sand box
Plus I was scared of many dogs- like the big Rottie our butcher had.
I even was scared stiff of wolves- thanks to Grimm's tales and some dreams I had.
It changed when I grew up. The wife of my dad's cousin was into dog rescue and when I was 18 I stayed in their house with 5 dogs when they went on vacation. I always thought then I would breed dogs.
I do not know exactly when I became a cat person - the first cat was a rescue in a house my first husband and I shared with others when I was 21. I suppose it was Grisette's babies who totally won me over.
If I had a big house that was really in the country side I would still have cats and dogs.
As for other animals like wolves I learned to love them when I knew more about them and today I think they are so beautiful and do not deserve their bad reputation in kids' tales.
I am still a little bit reluctant with insects and spider-likes. I think they are wonderful and very useful- but it would be a bit much to say I love them. I was however never scared of snakes.