Just a couple of days ago I was reading in the news about a story of some low life that killed a mother and her children in their home in Connecticut. He didn’t know these people but he would be forever connected to them once he did his dirty deed.
It is a known fact that more attacks on women happen during the day when the husband is away from the home. If you have a kennel full of dogs, make sure you have a couple in the house with you at all times. If you don’t have a kennel full of dogs, don’t keep your dog tied out in the backyard. He can’t do anything for you restricted like this. If you have a dog, make sure he’s your companion or what’s the sense of having one at all? Sure if the perpetrator has a gun, the chances are that the dog will get shot. Your chances of getting away are better if there are a couple of dogs in the house. If one doesn’t get him, the other one is sure to do the job.
No one wants to be paranoid, but more and more people own guns and are being trained how to use them. We live in hard times and desperate people do desperate things. It’s better to be prepared then be totally shocked and have no defenses.
Sometime back in the mid to late 80’s I remember reading a story in either People magazine or perhaps it was Life magazine. The name of the magazine doesn’t stick with me but the story has all these years later. Someone in the German Shepherd Dog Show community who was an active small breeder and owner of a Select dog had a tragedy show its ugly face to her family. I knew these people well having gone to supper with them and having parties with them at their or our homes. We sat together at many of the dog shows here on the East coast. She was best friends with another mutual dog friend. She lived a well to do lifestyle that afforded her to show dogs and then later on to own and show horses that she and her daughters delighted in.
This lady had a brother that I never met. He and his wife had always worked and lived in the city. Stressed out and tired from the “rat race”, they decided to “chuck it all” and move to a completely different environment altogether. They were giving up the city life for the quiet of the country life. So they packed up their bags and headed out to the Midwest. They found and bought a beautiful farm like home with a country barn and friendly “Howdy neighbor” types of people that they called their friends. Life was good for the city couple. They went to barbecues, fairs and festivals and you would have thought that they lived here all their lives because of how well they were welcomed in their new community.
Life was everything that the new couple to the neighborhood could have asked for. Their blood pressure was normal and they led what they believed to be a relatively stress free life. Then one day an out of town bus stopped in their little village. One lone scruffy looking poor excuse for a human being stepped off the last step of that rickety old bus. The bus pulled away from the curve leaving the vagabond behind. He hung around the small village for a short time and then he turned and walked heading out of town toward the country road that would lead him to my friend’s brother’s home. Little did he know that his actions on this day would land his name on a 4 -5 page spread in one of this countries most popular read magazines. Up until this time, no one knew his name.
People in those neck of the woods was so confident of their surroundings and believed in brotherly love that no one locked their doors at night…………or in the daytime either. My friend’s brother was out in the barn perhaps storing the hay or doing something else that country folks do. Before he knew what hit him, he was being attacked and thrown to the floor. He was beaten up pretty bad and then tied up. His attacker made him stand up and shoved him towards the house. He did not know that his wife had already been attacked and tied to a chair. The low life was on a roll now. He had a captive audience for his devious acts. Although the wife screamed and cried, she was made to endure watching her husband be beat some more until his attacker finally killed him. Then the wife cried no more as she too was murdered.
The vagabond was caught and sent away as he should have been. He confessed he never even knew these people that he brutalized and murdered. He was just a drifter with no sense or purpose. The city people that came to the country to get away from the stress and crime of the big city had no way of knowing that dirt is dirt whether it comes from the city or the country.
So if you have a dog or dogs, let them be a part of your life. Bring them in the house because they’re not going to be able to do anything for you “out there” when you’re “in here!’
From the book: "PROFILERS: LEADING INVESTIGATORS TAKE YOU INSIDE THE CRIMINAL MIND" - A bone-chilling conversation with Jeffrey Dahmer is just one highlight from this anthology of seasoned examinations of one of law enforcement's grimmest challenges. Campbell and DeNevi's second collaboration (after Into the Minds of Madmen) casts a wide net; although famous profilers like John Douglas contribute several of the 28 essays here, most are written by accomplished but little-known specialists. The result is a no-nonsense, technically oriented but readable look at how cops grapple with the worst felonies, including hostage taking, serial rape and murder, and child abduction/murder. The contributors take a measured tone toward the lethal predators they examine, as in Robert Ressler's discussion of his Dahmer interviews: "We must never forget that... there are many Jeffrey Dahmers walking among us." James Fitzgerald gives an account of using forensic linguistics to decode more than 200 of the Unabomber's writings, such as elusive marks like "indented writing," marks left by writing on another piece of paper over the examined one. FBI Special Agent Mary Ellen O'Toole offers a useful overview of the often misunderstood science of profiling ("Contrary to the current television and movie depictions..., a successful profiler is not psychic"). Other chapters offer updates on multidisciplinary approaches to cold cases and geographic profiling innovations. This is a rigorous and disturbing collection, accessible but compiled with law enforcement professionals in mind.
My rating: Keeping dogs in the house for protection: (4)
Good topic Barbara and a very good reminder: There are low life predators in all environments for sure. They look pretty normal. We live in a remote area and lock our doors. Come to our door at night or visit during the day and the dogs will always alert us. Keeping them inside and handy is a good thing like you say. Ours are spoiled and definitely house dogs. Any low life doesn't need to fear our dogs, but instead the dog owners. We had one visitor come by at night who was stuck in the snow on our road, but when he looked through the door window he was looking at a gun. Doesn't pay to take chances with all the perverts out there now days. Its easier to apologize than be a victim. Its harder to apologize however, if you have pulled the trigger.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like guns then get yourself a bull mastiff. They are so strong and powerful they can literally rip your arm or leg off. Pretty hard to remember what your choice of perversion was when you see a large dog standing there holding your arm in its mouth. Or seeing a wide eyed scared female holding a gun that is aimed in your direction.
Our dogs only need to alert us and we take it from there. That doesn't put the dog at risk at all. I yearn for the old days when you didn't need to lock your doors, left your windows open, and didn't have to fear every person who may need help. Times have changed and it is good that you post topics like this on your blog site. We need reminders....
I agree with you Bruce........we certainly do need reminders. Just because it doesn't look or smell like a skunk, doesn't mean it isn't! Rather be safe than sorry!
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