Who Needs a Gun

[USMC 1975]

I had a lot of errands to run today. Ya'll know those quick stop, 5 minute ones.

So I jump into my SUV and head off ( and yes I was carrying ). I am heading down a 4 lane road ( 45 mph speed limit ) and some kid pulls off a side street from my left, goes through the turn lane and comes right at me. Now so all of you know, this car pulled out of what the locals call the slums. The cops spend a great deal of time down there answering calls for fights, etc. Its rough in there.

I swerved the car to the right and thought it may roll on me, corrected and began trying to get my heart rate out of sinus tachycardia and into a normal rhythm. I look up and what do I see, this kid next to me who turns and gives me a dirty look. I throw up my arms as if to say " whats that all about dude ". Then we stop at the light right next to each other. I look over and this dumb kid is starting to open his door. He had a PO'ed look on his face and I figured this little s**t wanted a piece of this old Marine.

I whispered into the back of the SUV " watch em Tess " and my 80 lb German Shepherd stands up and goes orange alert and pops her head out the window and locks onto him. The kid sees the dog, closes his door and turns his head away from me and then quickly makes a right turn and speeds away.
I just sat there with a big grin.

I never pulled my shirt up, broke the thumb snap or had to unholster my gun. Just three words was all it took to diffuse the situation. I laughed my butt off for the next mile.

Now obviously if he kept coming, I would have broke the thumb snap and been ready if he had a weapon, but obviously this kid didn't want to screw with a German Shepherd.

All is well that ends well.

Chris

 

[Omaney]

Good Girl!!

 

[Pilot]

Great story. Dogs are great. My German Shorthair is a real sweetheart, but he looks and sounds fierce when strangers approach the car or house.

 

[Sato Ord]

Give that gorgeous girl an extra treat from me!

I love dogs, and German Shepherds are one of my all time favorites. My first dog was a big male shepherd named King. He was my constant companion and would protect me with his life. Forty years later I still miss that dog.

Great story, thanks.

 

[03Shadowbob]

Good dog.
Along the same lines as your title of this post..."Who needs an alarm system?"
I have never had one but do have 2 large pups and one ankle biter. I have no worries about anyone coming inside my home.

 

[USMC 1975]

I will admit, in my younger days I was 10 ft tall and bullet proof and loved a good scrape now and then. Especially when it involved sailors...lol.... But heck you hit your 50's and its time to start picking and choosing your fights very carefully.

If I can walk away from one I will. Back when I was in the Corp's, no way did I walk anywhere but at the guy. Of course back then, men still fought fair. Now days guys pull knives and guns and brass knuckles. Back then it was only fists. Dang, this country has changed hasn't it.

BTW, for you dog lovers - Tessa got a BIG treat when she got home.

Chris

 

[USMC 1975]

Tessa - Daddy's Girl:

 

[Pilot]

She's a beauty!

 

[Sans Authoritas]

There is a primal and irrational fear of dogs in all criminals, it seems. It's good to capitalize on it for the sake of the good guys.

-Sans Authoritas

 

[hankdatank1362]

SAUSAGES!!!

 

[Deanimator]

Some people aren't as smart as some dogs...

 

[RoadkingLarry]

If ya could get a IWB holster for a German Shepard........

 

[doc2rn]

Good for you!

I just wish mine did that well. He wont protect me, but he is dead serious that no one will touch our little girl. I trained him that way. He is such a good dog, chocolate labs are great learners.

 

[mbt2001]

Give that gorgeous girl an extra treat from me!

I love dogs, and German Shepherds are one of my all time favorites. My first dog was a big male shepherd named King. He was my constant companion and would protect me with his life. Forty years later I still miss that dog.

Great story, thanks.

+1... I can totally understand that sentiment.

That was a cute story USMC...

I just wish mine did that well. He wont protect me, but he is dead serious that no one will touch our little girl. I trained him that way. He is such a good dog, chocolate labs are great learners.

I had advised this before, but most folks think that there dogs are "no good" because they are not aggressive. My Boxer isn't aggresive, most of the time he looks to me for an indication on how to deal with a situation. I am sure though, if someone came in the house and started trying to hurt us, he would have something to say about it.

 

[shdwfx]

Great story. Anyone responsible and committed enough to give the training and care a good dog needs owes it to themselves to have one. They repay it - oh, do they.

The only reason I don't right now have a shepherd dog myself is my schedule prevents me from spending the necessary time. It wouldn't be fair to the dog for me to have one now. Someday.

 

[Big45]

My dachshund would rock Tess

 

[beretta92d]

My first dog was a big male shepherd named King

small world..back when i was 3-4yrs old,my family had a shepherd named king also that was as gentle with me as can be but try to mess around and he got real serious..(not remembering this but was told that how he was)
only problem was a neighbor kid was messing around and cause skin got broken,police forced us to get rid of him..so sheriff took him home as family pet.

(dang,i wish i could own a dog...:banghead: stupid apartment rules..)

USMC 1975,beautiful dog

 

[PirateRadio]

Great story!!!

I'd love to have a German Shepard but my house is a big small right now for it. Someday though.

 

[jackstinson]

It was a very similar situation awhile back which prompted me to get my CHL and finally start carrying.
Only I didn't have a "Tess" and the guy chased me two miles, then did get out of his car when I had to stop at a major intersection. I kept him busy talking until I could pull away leaving him standing in the road (he wasn't the smartest person I've ever met). As you say, in our younger days it would have been a non-issue...but being not-so-young these days, I decided not to put myself in such a position again without backup. Too many folks around here have been shot from road rage incidents.
At home, I have a "guard-cat". Last night I hear this loud thumping in the great room. The cat is wailing is head into the sliding door to the patio. I go over and look out at about his eye level and staring back at me with his nose pressed against the glass is a big raccoon with a silly grin on his mug. Dumb cat, dumber racoon.
Jack

 

[rgs1975]

Dogs can have a profound psychological effect on humans. It doesn't even need to be a dog that's known for protection, defense aggression, etc...

Something about an unfamiliar attentive dog watching every move you make that can be highly unsettling to anyone with ill intentions.

I love dogs

 

[USMC 1975]

She is my protector but more importantly, she is my buddy.
I am going through a horrible battle with Leukemia at the moment and she is by my side night and day. She keeps my spirits up when they are down and because of her personality gives me huge laughs when I need it.

I worked with her a lot, but I have to be honest here, she learned a great deal from my former Shepherd Trooper. She was raised next to him and he taught her a great deal. I had him put down two years ago because of old age issues. Trooper came to me through a buddy of mine who was a K-9 handler. He gave me Trooper when he was 5 years old. The Sheriff hated him and wanted him off the department because he felt he was overly aggressive and posed a liability ( he did bite every thief he ever tracked ).

Now whats funny is he never bit a soul once I got him and he retired from the force. He mellowed out and was an awesome dog ( unless he heard a siren and then he got nuts thinking he was going to work ). I could use voice commands with him or he also would work off hand signals. Just an amazing dog. I still get teary eyed when I think of him and the day I had him put to sleep cried like a baby. He was my constant companion for 7 years.

Here is Trooper......... 135 lbs of love.

 

[USMC 1975]

It was a very similar situation awhile back which prompted me to get my CHL and finally start carrying.

It is one thing I really watch out for - road rage. I knew one guy that got run off the road and he chased the guy down. They pulled into a parking lot and then both jumped out and was ready to go at it. Problem is the other guy jumped out with a shotgun and pulled the trigger. Luckily it was bird shot and caught him in his right shoulder and the injury was superficial.

He learned his lesson.

Myself, I will never stop over a road rage incident. If a guy upsets me in traffic, I keep going. We have a lot of looney tunes running around these days and if a guy is in a fit of rage, God knows what he will do. I just get his plate number and if its serious, I call it in to the locals and continue on my merry way.

My Rambo days are over. You get older, you get wiser and I consider myself lucky I have made it to 50. You never want to push fate.

Chris

 

[bowl443]

USMC... I hate to hear about your battle with Leukemia. Also, glad to hear when dog owners take their dogs everywhere they can with them. I bring my akita with me everywhere I can. I don't understand how someone can get a dog, stick them in the backyard with no human interaction, and then expect them to behave/listen.

A good dog can diffuse many a situation. Including door to door salesmen, punk kids, pesky neighbors, other animals, etc....

 

[K3]

USMC: Great story and what a good puppy!

The cat is wailing is head into the sliding door to the patio. I go over and look out at about his eye level and staring back at me with his nose pressed against the glass is a big raccoon with a silly grin on his mug. Dumb cat, dumber racoon.
Jack

It seems to me that the raccoon is pretty smart, getting your cat to act the way it did and then sit there and smile.

 

[Cyclimus]

I second the guy that mentioned that his dog won't protect him (although mine will look to me to set the aggression level). I start getting agitated, loud or otherwise start acting like something is wrong, the hair on her back goes on end and she growls at nearly every sound. My little 40 lbs German Shep/Collie mix is very protective of my wife though which is good in my opinion and her bark and growl make her sound like she's 3 times as big as she is.