Fanatic (adj): marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion (source: www.m-w.com)

I'm thinking the word that tips the balance in this definition is uncritical. In this context I'm fanatic about the shelter from which I adopted my cat... it is very hard to say anything negative about them. But negatives exist and I've seen good changes at the shelter that have come from them. Another example- I just finished reading the book "In the Garden of Beasts" which is about the US ambassador to Germany in the early 1930s. It was a time when some Germans were fanatic about Hitler and his associates, and others were not.

Conversely - I'm passionate about animal rescue, but not to the point where I can't offer criticism. Example- I wish there was a better way to transfer animals from places like animal control, where they can only be housed for a short time, to no-kill shelters. Where they might be found by their owners, adopted by new owners, or able to live with caring volunteers and staff at the shelter. But animal control is operated by the city of Chicago, and the no-kill shelters are private entities. I wish all animals could go directly to shelter programs, but that's not an option.

I'm trying in my life to follow Stephen Covey's advice to "seek first to understand, then to be understood". If someone helps me understand why they are fanatic about (insert subject here), then I can agree or disagree and move on. I might not agree with someone about a specific subject, but that doesn't mean we can't agree on other subjects or just agree to disagree on the issue at hand.

Hope this helps,
elyse