Oddity, Week One

Fear

My dog Sebastian has a phobia. Even though I'm afraid of heights and have an unnatural fear of spiders, it never occurred to me that animals have phobias, too. Sebastian, a 15-pound shih tzu, has a few quirks that I find amusing. For one, he spontaneously sprawls out like a bear rug on the floor while walking across a room. Suddenly, I'm assuming, he needs a rest.

At first I thought his refusal to climb up or down the stairs was cute. He just wants me to carry him, I thought. Eventually, though, I put the pieces together. He, too, is terrified of heights. The three sharp intakes of breath as we descend the fourteen steps to the main floor remind me of the time I hyperventilated on the stairs of the rock tower at Mt. Cheaha, my mom swearing that it would be less painful for her to jump than to endure the unbearable fear of falling. I wonder if fear is hereditary.

I can't say Sebastian's phobia isn't convenient sometimes. We can let him out on the porch without fear of him running off and getting lost. There are ten stairs between him and freedom.

If we're late coming downstairs in the mornings, Sebastian braves the climb up in an attempt to be closer to his family. At first, he only made it as far as the landing. Now, on a good day, he makes it as far as two steps from the top. Those last two 6-inch obstacles are more than he can bear.