Another important aspect that should be considered for home security is a dog. Some police officers feel that having a dog is a better security tool than an alarm system.

A burglary detective from a major metropolitan police department was quoted as saying “dogs are better to have than an alarm system for people who are concerned with home security.” I do not necessarily agree with her statement but it has merit. This particular detective worked for a large urban department where the police response time was not the greatest. Factoring in the average time it takes for your alarm to reach the attention of a central alarm monitoring station and then having that station notify your local department can take five or six minutes or sometimes longer. Adding a slow local police response time, let’s say of fifteen minutes or more, gives a ton of time for someone to burglarize your home or to do even worse.

A dog, on the other hand, is most always at your home watching and barking if someone comes near. Most predators will not want to chance dealing with a large or tenacious dog. The Los Angeles Police Department’s Threat Management Unit says, “a dog is one of the least expensive but most effective alarm systems.”

The big question that comes up is what kind of dog do you want. For the average person a dog is a companion, friend and family member. It is . . .

Fairly recently, an Ohio fireman was convicted of rape and other charges and was sentenced to prison for probably the rest of his life. This in itself is not shocking news but what is shocking is what this man did in his quest to ravage women. After he was arrested, the police found literally thousands of names of women, whom he had literally catalogued, that he was looking into abusing.

He admitted to authorities that he would stand behind women who caught his fancy in checkout lanes and looked at either driver’s licenses or checks that they were writing. He would also write down license plates of cars and get information on their owners. Or he would follow some of these women from the mall or grocery store to see where they lived. Once he found out where they lived, he would watch the home, sometimes for months. He would see if they lived alone and if they had a dog. It appears that this case was the biggest (by sheer volume of females involved) stalking case in our country’s history. He not only stalked them, he sexually assaulted many of them.

He was finally caught because a woman whom he had been spying on for a long time, who lived alone, happened to have her big strong brother spending the night at her home one night. This predator broke into the home and was ready to do his thing. No alarm system, no dog, but OOPS, big brother happened to be sleeping on the couch that night. A fight ensued . . .

The man who the term “serial killer” was first used on was Ted Bundy. He often used false pretenses to get women to help or come with him. From using a fake arm cast preying on women’s sympathy to lying about some tragedy that happened to a family member, he tried many things to trap women into his control. Then he devastated, raped and killed them. Be cautious helping anyone where you put yourself in possible danger. That’s why God created cell phones. Make a call to help someone if there’s any possibility of you getting into harm’s way, instead of trying to help them yourself. It may take longer for the help to get to the man in need, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes in the name of safety.

The Chicago Sun-Tribune reported that on May of 2001 a 42 year old woman told police that she fought back after a man forced her to perform oral sex on him. Police put two testicles in a biohazard evidence container. Not too long afterwards a man turned up at a hospital minus, yes, you guessed it, his testicles. While doctors attempted to re-attach them, the police charged him with aggravated criminal sexual assault.

There is nothing you can do or say that merits someone hitting or beating you up. Nothing! They can divorce you, leave you, or call the police on you. They do not, however, have the right to strike you. You are not a child who needs to be disciplined. You are an adult and no one has the right to physically harm you short of for self-defense reasons. That is the first thing to know, believe and remember. It is the truth.