I learned a very good lesson last night. Actually, let me rephrase that - I experienced why one should follow the conventional wisdom.
I was out on my walk last night. Normally, I walk the dogs for 20 minutes, drop them back off at the house, and then continue on for another 45 minutes or so. Before we take the dogs out, we have to harness them up. This isn't difficult. What is difficult is listening to Foxy bark her fool head off in excitement during the harnessing process. She loves to go on walks and expresses it by barking incessantly until you're well into the front yard. During these barking bouts, you will do almost anything to get her out the door. And last night, I was in such a rush to end the barking (having been gone from home for two nights and driven over three hours to come home that afternoon, I was exhausted) that I left the house without my gun.
The dog walk went fine. But on my solitary portion of the walk, two large dogs - boxers of some sort - were out in one man's front yard. He was with them. Despite his admonitions, the dogs immediately came at me in an aggressive fashion when they realized someone was walking on the sidewalk in front of their house.
I wasn't too scared - not because I'm some tough guy (I'm not), but because the owner didn't seem too overly worried about them coming up to me. Nonetheless, I had my Fenix flashlight in hand, and when the closer dog got within five feet of me, I lit him up, directly in the face with a bunch of lumens from an LED light.
Amazingly, the dog stopped in his tracks, as did his or her brother/sister as soon as I blinded them with the flashlight. They hadn't a clue what to do. Their owner came and secured them, apologizing for their behavior.
Lessons learned here:
- A reliable flashlight makes a fantastic less than lethal defensive tool. Get one small enough that you will actually carry it. With that particular light, I have located a dropped iPhone in a theater, provided light for a bridesmaid to repair a bride's dress in a dark reception hall, hailed a cab in Rome, and now stopped two lunatic dogs from harassing me.
- I continue to be impressed with LED flashlights. They are awesome.
- I should have had my gun. Now in this instance, I wouldn't have shot either dog, as they didn't threaten me. But what if they had? What if one had attacked me? What if they both attacked me? It's not that far fetched - a number of people let their dog run leash free in their front yard. If one of those dogs turned out to be a "bad" dog, how would I be feeling today with dog bites on my arms? My face?
This CNBC article linked above is great reading in a short amount of time. Have a plan to get your business back on line after a disaster. Note the story in the article about how Seagate reclaimed its market position from Toshiba since Seagate was ready for devastating floods - and Toshiba wasn't.
Reminder No. 245 To Execute The Basics Well
Most of us will never need to know how to build a fire with a car battery or perform a C-section in a ditch. Statistically, we're more likely to need to know basic CPR and other first aid measures.
Watch this excellent two minute video. Watch it all the way through; the important stuff is at the end. Thanks to Caleb for sharing.
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