Um, could it had been just the umbrella he was holding rather that the fact he was Latino?
On mizzly days everyone could be holding an umbrella. Her fear was definitely a Latino "look." I couldn't understand her fears but she definitely FIERCELY feared a Latino (looking?) male holding a closed-up umbrella.
The Latino (looking?) male hurt her badly. That was why she feared him so. Whenever she saw a Latino male holding an umbrella she would run away, HEADING FOR THE HILLS and hide.
This is California so there are many Latino males. She didn't fear ALL of them, just ones holding these kind of umbrellas.
She was a DOG and she couldn't reason out the particulars, just that a male (looking?) Latino she remembered beat her.