Who let the dogs out?

Genoa City seemed to be filled with an inordinate number of misbehaving mutts last week, both male and female.

Genoa City seemed to be filled with an inordinate number of misbehaving mutts last week, both male and female. The town could have used a good dog catcher to round them all up and take them to the pound. Unfortunately, I doubt these particular canines would be welcome in a happy, adoptive home.

Let's begin with the Presa Canario, Victor Newman. An attack by this type of dog has been described as hopeless for the victim. They are a guardian breed with man-stopping ability, incredible power, and a complete lack of fear. Sounds much like our two-legged beast, Victor, doesn't it? And did it sound to the rest of you fans like Victor may have been behind whatever situation landed Billy in that prison? What else could that "'success remains to be seen" remark have meant? It's unbelievable the lengths Victor will go to just to keep a man he deems unsuitable from his daughter. What if Delia hadn't become ill? Would Victor have left Billy in that prison to rot, at least until he had managed to link Victoria with someone else, like Sam?

Tucker McCall and Katherine Chancellor clearly fall into the pit bull category. Like a pit bull, both have bit down and locked their jaws onto Jabot, and neither is willing to relinquish the meaty Jabot bone. It might be different if their battle was being waged out of love for Jabot, but Tucker has admitted he would rather see it destroyed than let his mother have it. I guess all that professed love and respect he claims to have for Ashley doesn't extend to giving her back her family's company.

As for Katherine, she just wants to repay Tucker for daring to steal Jabot from her in the first place. At the risk of boring you with my repetitive statement, I still want ownership of Jabot returned to the Abbotts. I'm sick of Jabot being the poor orphan child and Jack being batted like a ping-pong ball back and forth across the table between mother and son, hired and fired at their selfish whims. It's long past time for Jack and Jabot to have a chance to compete on its own merits with like subsidiaries of Chancellor, McCall, and Newman.

Having said that, however, I'm cautiously glad that Jack seems to have finally gotten fed up with Kay's imperious hand-waving and ego-shriveling remarks and has decided to take his chances with Tucker. I say, cautiously, however, because Tucker has shown he is no more trustworthy than his Mommy dearest, and Jack still has that annoying tendency to cockily and prematurely show all the cards in his hand. Still, I'm looking forward to what these two come up with and have my fingers crossed that, just this once, Jack will triumph. By the way, I was on my feet, cheering for him for solving the Jabot problems while Kay and Tucker bickered back and forth, waiting to see who would blink first.

Adam has been a very dangerous dog in the past, and is only taking a breather while he waits for the trial to start before he becomes one again. Sneaky, aggressive, and extremely territorial, Adam is not the kind of canine you would want to turn your back to. Could you believe he had the nerve to appear hurt and surprised because Sharon didn't jump all over him with joy upon learning he had regained his sight? Given all he's done to her, from stealing Faith to literally tossing the key to her release in the park pond, what other kind of reaction did he expect?

Heather and Avery have a lot to learn about Adam. I couldn't help but giggle when Avery threatened Adam with the possibility of penalty for perjury. As if Adam would be the least bit worried about a paltry perjury charge! He could probably talk himself out of that one even without an attorney. Heather, however, should know better than to be so quick to believe the lies that constantly pour out of Adam's mouth. Hasn't she read the case file? Doesn't she realize the defense believes Adam destroyed evidence that would have cleared Sharon? Does she not know about the jailhouse wedding that didn't happen? She must not, or she would have no problem understanding why Sharon is no longer enamored of Adam.

Sam doesn't appear to be a dog, but he's certainly not above using one to assist him in his romantic pursuits. In Sam's book, the best way to a lassie's heart must be by way of an oversized dog's wagging tail and slurping tongue. Because once again, that's the path he has chosen to get close to yet another damsel in distress over a misbehaving male. Hopefully this pooch won't suffer an unfortunate accident that will involve comfort beneath the sheet covers. Just in case the dog doesn't work any magic, Sam could also be hoping he can cut a path to Victoria's heart by going the way of her stomach, although a spicy bowl of chili wouldn't be my meal of choice. Okay, maybe Sam was just trying to be a good friend to Victoria with the offer of a meal and a beer, but from my seat on the sofa, his good deed still reeked of some indefinable ick ingredient. Maybe because Sam knows Victoria is still hung up on Billy. Does Sam just like to be the rebound guy? Anyway, that's only my opinion. Perhaps other fans found Sam's offer a nice and considerate gesture.

Not only is Paul not a mangy mutt, he's one of my heroes of the week for the way he unflinchingly told Kay exactly what he thought of her decision to vindictively keep Devon away from Tucker. He all but promised to tell Tucker the truth if she didn't, and I would love to see that happen sooner rather than later. Kay claimed to be afraid of the detestable things Tucker might teach Devon, but she's proven she's no slouch in the despicable department herself. The way mother and son have been busily burying sharp blades of betrayal in each other's back seems to indicate certain tendencies run in the blood. Whether with father or grandmother, Devon seems destined to learn many traitorous tricks of the trade.

Unfortunately, Paul may not have time to tell the McCall family tale because he could have his hands full keeping brother and sister on good terms. It was an interesting twist having Ricky working with Avery against his sister, and I'm looking forward to seeing the conflict that could come into play on both sides.

All of the trouble-causing canines weren't male. There were also a couple of she-dogs running loose and causing havoc as well.

Like Chloe, for instance. Like a tiny toy poodle yipping at the slightest sound, or a territorial Chihuahua barking to beat the band, if I was a cruel person, I'd probably try to boot this woman into a corner when no one was watching. I swear, if Chloe makes one more statement about Billy not being there or implying he's a bad dad who is purposely staying away (okay, so thanks to Victor, Billy does now know about Delia and is sort of staying away), I think I might just scream until I lose my voice. I side with scores of fans who feel that Chloe owns at least a bag or two of blame for Billy's decision to jet out of that judgmental town. And I'm already rolling my eyes at her expected future and tiresome refrain reciting all she had to deal with while bad Dad Billy was drinking, gambling, womanizing, and generally doing everything wrong. But the funny thing was, I've been watching Chloe with Delia for days and felt nothing, yet Billy's sixty seconds with her had me wanting to bawl like a baby. Go figure.

Speaking of Billy, I'm thrilled he's back on the canvas. I continue to love that guy, faults and all. In fact, I nearly cried for him when he begged stone-faced Victor for an update on Delia. While Victor was off moving minions around like chess pieces, and tossing gold at anyone willing to help him set up the perfect plan to hide Billy while helping Delia, Billy was searching out every possible alternative to healing his daughter. Another man might even have been impressed by Billy's immediate and total focus on his daughter, but not our vindictive Victor.

I liken Abby to a Dachshund. Known for their playfulness, this breed can also be stubborn, and loves to chase small animals with great determination and ferocity. Okay, so Tucker isn't a small animal, but Abby is going after him with everything packed in her tiny self. Unfortunately, Abby's track record when it comes to fixing things is sprinkled with as many misses as hits. She literally hit Tucker while trying to pry him away from Ashley. She missed by a very wide margin when she tried to confess her drunken sins to the world. And not only did she miss the large Tucker target completely when she tried to pin Diane's murder on him via Ronan's audiotape, she managed to skewer the very person she was trying to protect. Three strikes, you're out, Abby.

With that damaging audio recording now an incriminating part of Ronan's arsenal, things could become a little dicey for Ashley. Those mysterious photographs seem to have already begun to loosen her mental ribbons, and Ronan's presumed pursuit will likely rattle the fragile beauty even more.

I'm glad Devon is finally out from under Lily's shadow, but I just hope he's not getting in over his head. I guess it doesn't matter, though. His doting grandmother seems poised to practically write him a blank check, and even if she balked, once Tucker finds out who he is, he will probably do his best to trump Kay just out of spite. Whatever happens, the scribes have already woven a very tangled web between Kay and Tucker, a web that will only grow more knotted with the arrival of Devon's mom, Yolanda, and the feelings of Neil. I enjoyed the small bonding moment between Tucker and Devon over the painting and am looking forward to Tucker's reaction to the knowledge that Devon is his son.

As has been reported on our own soapcentral.com site, the revolving door is whirling 'round and 'round again. This time when it stops, three bodies will come stumbling out. Heather, Colin, and Malcolm have been issued their walking papers. What will this mean for their storylines? Will Heather lose her case? Is Jill destined to return to a lonely, man-less existence? Will Malcolm be recast or does this mean Neil will finally be blessed with a child of his very own? What of Genevieve? With Colin painted over, will her picture soon be removed as well?

And lastly, welcome back in advance, Nikki, it seems you'll finally be coming home.

Until my next time in this place, I hope you enjoy a few opinions from the e-bag. If you'd like to share your thoughts, send me an email -- and your email might appear in a future column.

* * * * * * *

At last Phyllis' past will be revealed! I've been dying for this since the moment she came to GC after she trapped Danny with a false pregnancy and broke up his marriage with Christine! She tried to kill Paul and Chris and was never worried about that! She never paid for her evil actions and it's about time! Lucy deserves good parents, poor little girl, she's Sheila Carter's grandchild and she's raised by Phyllis. How can she have a good life with such a handicap! Can't wait to see Phyllis destroyed! She's pure evil, she's Sheila's spiritual daughter! - Kelly

With each new plot Victor becomes more and more of a slime ball. He has nothing more to do with his time than to sneak around and connive against the people (with the exception of Adam) he claims to love. Example: Sharon and especially Victoria. This whole kick Billy while he's down thing is really absurd and annoying. Victoria, Chloe, Jack and Ashley caused him to leave. But even more so, why is Victor thousands of miles away playing God with Delia and Victoria's life by trying to manipulate Billy while he's locked up? So utterly stupid and ridiculous! Victor is just as bad as Adam. No wonder they can't stand each other -- they're just alike. - Zaneta

You know the saying, "What goes around, comes around." Or karma. Well, Chloe made it 'go around' and now it's 'coming around' and biting her in the butt. It's about time. She treated Billy horribly and now she's paying for it. And I don't mean by having a quickie with Ronan...that has nothing to do with it. I mean Billy. He loves his daughter beyond reason and she literally, cut him out of her life. Now, pay back is a b*tch. Good! - Colleen