HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

In the past, if people didn’t feel secure in their home, they got a dog. I can fully understand that a dog can alert people to when someone is at the door, etcetera, but some people take it farther than that. They want a dog to protect the property with more than just the fact that a dog lives there. They want a dog who chases other dogs, and people, away. That confuses me, because many dogs end up in shelters because they are not good with other dogs. Is it because people “made them that way” with their ideas and rewarding dogs for that exact behavior? It is just something to think about.

Times have changed, and instead of a dog deterring all but the most determined criminal from a property, there are stories where the intruder harms the dog to be able to get past them.  This could be as simple and temporary as locking them in a room, or as terrible as poisoning them or hitting them. Now, many of my friends that have pets and have a home or neighborhood with a history of break in are turning to a home security system.   It is not just for them, but to protect the very dog that acts as their warning signal. Of course, a dog may be more protected if he or she is crated and contained, but they don’t want to take any chances.

You don’t have to go through the experience of a break in, to think about home security. In fact, sometimes an ADT home security sign on a lawn or window is enough to deter people and makes them think twice about what they have to do.  Not all burglars are professionals.  There are desperate people who will make mistakes, or people that are simply bored or see an opportunity.  They probably won’t touch your house if they happen to see the sign or hear the panic button.   That, as you would imagine, would be a first line of defense.  That would make me feel a bit better.  Just thinking about ADT makes me feel better as well, because I have seen security companies and systems come and go, and I think it is better to go with one that seems like it won’t be shuttering its doors tomorrow.

There are shows on television that tell you what a more experienced burglar sees, and they often break into homes despite a security system. They will be the first to point out that the homes that they are able to break into are not easy because of a security system, but because the person does not arm it, or leaves a window wide open.  If they open or break a window, the alarm would have gone off instantly and the police will arrest them, but they are able to crawl through a wide open one sometimes and avoid immediate detection.  Sometimes people are careless and even write on their websites that they are going on vacation and may also actually let it slip about the funny place they keep a spare key.  The alarm would still go off if someone had a key and didn’t know the code, but this is very careless.

You may not be inclined to think about security, being that your neighbors are like family and are very trustworthy.  However, the people that you might have to worry about are probably not your neighbors.   I used to have a neighbor who would pay attention to what is going on with everyone’s house, but there are days when your nosy neighbors go on vacation, too, or get distracted with watching your other neighbor who suddenly seems to have a new girlfriend or is renovating in a radical way.  It is good sometimes to not depend so heavily on others.

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