An irrational fear of one particular species of animal is
quite a prevalent phobia.
Arachnophobia, which is an excessive fear of spiders, causes
untold misery to people, many of whom seek pyschiatric help
to overcome the fear. As long as the fear is under control,
it is not a phobia. However, unfortunately, particularly
among orthodox Jews, fear of animals is quite widespread, and
is passed from generation to generation. Fear of animals is
not in the least hereditary, but it is certainly
contagious!
From where does this unreasonable fear of cats or dogs
originate? Orthodox Jewish families do not encourage pets in
the house. When they meet them, they do not known what to
expect. An unexpected movement over which the onlooker has no
control, causes unease, while a sudden bark or squeak can be
very frightening.
Babies are not frightened, yet when a large dog jumps at them
unexpectedly, with barks of joy, it may be quite a traumatic
experience. If the mother calmly pats the dog while holding
the screaming baby, and then, when he sees there is nothing
at all alarming about this creature, he, too, is allowed to
fondle the dog, the child will remember this as a pleasant
experience. But how many Jewish mothers are on such friendly
terms with even their next-door neighbor's dog?
When a child sees his omnipotent mother cross to the other
side of the road because she sees a cat ahead of her, he,
too, will absorb her fear. He may not realize that she has a
phobia, but he will notice that a cat is a thing to be
avoided at all costs. Parents voice their aversion or disgust
when a child brings in a worm or a beetle, even though there
is nothing intrinsically alarming about them. In fact, if
they would only observe these creaures more closely, they
would be delighted with the wonders of creation. However,
they cannot undo their own early training and the abhorrence
of living creatures with which they, themselves, were
indoctriniated.
Dog handlers who have full control over their beasts can
instill great fear into anyone who crosses their path. This
is probably a major cause for our antipathy to dogs.
Particularly nowadays, with the emergence of the fearsome
German Rottweilers which have been known to attack even their
own masters, and with the incidence of rabies, those rare
ones among our children who love all living creatures and who
may have the inclination to fraternize with stranger dogs,
have to be warned not to pat any dog without the owner's
express permission. It is the animals' unpredictability which
is the cause of fear, in the first place.
I have seen children run into the road in front of a car
because they saw a dog. Mothers can admit to their children
that they are not too keen on dogs, but that dogs are not
dangerous and cars are. There is no point in telling children
who imagine dogs or monsters under their beds that there is
nothing there. They can say hamal'och several times
and when they are a little older, they can understand about
the sixty warriors guarding them at night.
