I walk a lot and usually carry a Gerber mini-covert and Ken Onion Leek...I'm sure one of the reasons for carrying a folding knife, we tell ourselves, is to provide protection against "animals" we might encounter--not that we'd expect a little folder to ward off grizzlies in the Rockies--but common critters like overly "friendly" dogs who come charging at us, barking furiously at looking pretty scary...I wonder if anyone out there has actually faced this situation and how a knife was deployed to prevent/solve the problem of being attacked and mauled? (The dog owner, I'm sure, would be a bit concerned to see someone wielding a knife as fido came charging!)