I used to be really scared of dogs. My palms would become sweaty, teeth clenched and legs ready to run away whenever I saw one of man’s best friends approaching. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a phobia, but when I was younger, my fear of dogs was a real problem. With their fluffy ears, wagging tails and wide, trusting eyes, one may wonder what exactly there is to be scared of, but an incident with a particularly aggressive German Shepherd cemented my fear of them.
The year was 2000, and as I poked around on my Little Tike, a neighbor’s massive, muscular German Shepherd, lovingly known as Brad, came bounding into our backyard and began to chase me. I futilely attempted to outrun it with my stubby legs, seeking shelter in my house, but soon Brad caught up to me and lunged at my arm, knocking me to the ground and leaving a messy bite mark near my elbow. Needless to say, I cried a lot, as any other child would, but after my tears had dried and the bite scabbed over, the initial fear and pain of being chased and bitten lingered. I could no longer happily pet a dog without being scared, but my mom, after watching me flinch at the mere sight of a dog for three years, tackled my fear head-on, doing the seemingly unthinkable: she brought a dog home. When Dudu, our little teacup Maltese puppy, first joined our family, I wouldn’t even let him inside my room, but Dudu was relentless, and after weeks of pawing at me, I finally approached him cautiously, wearing a pair of oven mitts to protect myself, and all he had for me were sloppy kisses and joy. And just like that, the fear was gone and I gained a new love for dogs, even deciding to volunteer at the Pasadena Humane Society my sophomore year.
Fear can be a strange thing and seem like an insurmountable wall at times, but it’s definitely worth a try to confront your fears. Being scared of heights or blood is decidedly not the same as being scared of dogs, but the one thing they all have in common is that they can be overcome. It’s only natural to be scared of things, but don’t let it stop you from living life to the fullest, and in my opinion, that includes having the unconditional love that dogs shower us with. Dudu taught me that dogs aren’t all teeth and growls, and in hindsight, Brad was probably agitated by something or just not properly socialized as a pup.
Currently, I’m working on my fear of cockroaches, and although I’m still unable to stifle my screams whenever I see one scuttling around, hopefully someday I’ll be able to confidently stomp on one. I’ll never be able to love creepy crawlies like I do dogs, but at the very least I can learn to look at them without getting goosebumps.