Thanks man! I like the dog more ;)

Not so worried about wild boars here in Minnesota.

We do have other creatures that would turn you into a Scooby snack though.

We sighted a mountain lion within a half mile of our cabin last summer.

Freaked me out, as we are almost fifteen miles from town and just ten minutes from the Canadian border.

The middle of nowhere.

All I had at the cabin was a twenty gauge for grouse.

Called my brother, the arms supplier, and he gave me one of his lever action 30/30s with a couple boxes of top grade shells.

Now I just have to figure out a holster rig for my new Salsa Fargo.

That's the last thing I want to run into on our little fire road adventures.

The timber wolves, moose and black bears are of little concern compared to that critter.

http://blog.etech7.com/Portals/15339...e-610x347.jpeg

He's beautiful...the lines and grace, wow!

I just love cats - big, little...

The one we saw was big.

This stock photo doesn't rep the size well.

We couldn't believe how fast she moved.

If she wanted to catch you, she could.

Hopefully she was just passing through the area.....

... or, depending on the amount of stuff you need backed up, another external hard drive kept somewhere else.

This stock photo doesn't rep the size well.

I was about to compliment you on the stunning photo. That is one beautiful creature.

We have a few bobcats around here, but they're relatively small and pose no threat to humans. Panthers a bit further east and south, but rare enough that chance encounters with humans are rare and the big cats are more afraid of us than we are of them. They move with such style and grace. Saw one get hit crossing the turnpike some years back and it literally brought me to tears.

Again, she moved like lightning across the highway.

The whole sighting lasted seconds, but it's etched in my memory.

There is no way to climb a jack pine fast enough to get away from a cougar and she could follow you up anyway.

We also have a bobcat and a lynx walk through the driveway on occasion.

Stout creatures, but they don't put fear in me like the mountain lion.

That would have shook me up for sure...watching something so beautiful get killed.

Richmond is a scary place and it's gotten much worse in the 34 years I've worked downtown. I would never go there at night.

I have a favorite place I like to go, down on the central part of the state between Hwy 1 and Hwy 101. I ALWAYS see bobcats there, albeit just brief glimpses - they often seem to be moving quickly. One time I came across a clearing with a doe and some fawns grazing. When I looked at a bush at the edge of the clearing about 40 yards in front of me, I saw a bobcat sitting there intent on one of the fawns. When he realized he was being watched he turned to me, hissed, and scampered off. I guess I ruined his meal. :)

A couple of weeks ago I was in a very rugged, very remote canyon following deer and boar tracks. I came across a muddy crossing that had what looked like cat prints, except they were as big as my fist. That got my attention.

I had to help with an around-the-clock PBX install one weekend in Richmond. We were talking to local Richmond PD, and let them know that we would be coming and going at all hours. They advised us that if we were leaving late at night and there was no traffic, we were to make a bee-line for the freeway and only slow down enough at a red light to ensure there was no cross traffic. They said under no circumstances should we stop for any length of time, it was too dangerous.

It was a decent place to live in the late seventies. I bought a beautiful rehabbed 1924 California bungalow and walked to and from work every day without incident. Then crack cocaine came to town and it all changed. Fortunately, I was able to sell the house for more than twice what I paid for it.

Great looking dog. Congrats!

Aaron, I'm glad to learn you and your wife are doing well, and have opened your home to a dog that needs a family.

RE: mountain lion attacks on humans: you're more likely to be struck by lightning. Several times. So don't worry about it. And if a mountain lion has selected you for its next prey, a gun isn't going to help you anyway.

RE: dogs v. guns for home defense: I prefer the gun. I don't, nor will likely ever, own a dog. As other have stated, dogs require a great deal of time invested in training. And they can still go "off" against unintended targets.

RE: cats for home defense: silliness. I do own a large cat. He's a good mouser, nothing more.

RE: the Castle Doctrine and stand-your-ground laws: definitely check, because these laws vary by state. Some require you to try to retreat, even in your own home, before you may use violence in self-defense. And the other respondents to your post who have advocated arming yourself with a gun and using it on home invaders, it is not that simple. The force you use must be proportional to the force used against you. So using a gun on unarmed thieves who are busy carrying armfuls of your possessions out the door will only result in your arrest and conviction for deadly assault with a firearm.

RE: IPSC - for those of you who don't know (I sure didn't), this acronym stands for International Practical Shooting Confederation, an organization that promotes sports-shooting.

RE: comments on marksmanship, gun training and guns for home defense: good against paper or clay targets on a range is one thing. Good against the living requires other, more specialized and stringent training. I doubt anyone on this board who is not a combat veteran has the training, alertness and stomach to awaken at night to intruders ransacking his home as Aaron did, reach for a gun at arm's length, and put several rounds into their vitals. And making holes in paper targets at 200 yards with a scope does not prepare one for that.

You have to ask yourself, are you prepared to shoot it out with an unknown number of assailants, who may or may not have weapons, and in the dark? You want to maim or kill another human being? You want to risk getting maimed or killed yourself? You may think you do, given that the intruder is in your home. You may think differently afterwards.

Better to use your gun as a deterrent, as a last resort, from within the confines of a safe room to which you and your loved ones have retreated behind a locked door.

Your first and best self-defense weapon is your brain. Plan ahead, establish your safe room, which contains a cell phone, your gun and a locking door, and establish a code word for your family to use in an emergency for instant obedience in running to that room at a moment's notice.

And, as Bianchigirl and others have said, a short-barreled shotgun is the best choice for home defense. You do still have to aim, but you don't have to be as precise as you would with a small handgun.

Good luck to you and your wife.

Will your dog protect your house? From the Freep

http://www.freep.com/videonetwork/2167584432001

I live in the Yukon and the greatest threat is Grizzly bears towards the coast. We backpack and ride in remote areas and go not carry guns. Additionally, I used to live in BC and cougars are common on the coast. They only posed a threat to small children or people who are alone and crouched on the ground. As some else pointed out you are more likely to die on your way to work in your car (and probably on your bike) or be hit by lightening multiple times or choke to death on food the list goes on. Big animals are scary because we have been genetically imprinted to fear them from when they were a real threat to us on a daily basis. These hazards are easy to manage. Cats you do not have to worry about because you are very unlikely to surprise them and a full grown human on a bicycle is an unlikely target. Bears can me managed by being loud and if you should cross one you only need to be able to recognize the circumstance and indicate that you pose no threat to the bear. Most of the time this means calmly and firmly talking to the bear while slowly backing away and maintaining eye contact. It is scary but shooting one of these animals out of fear is just a horrible way to deal with it and anyone who does so should be ashamed. An attack is different, but it is also extremely rare and unlikely.

Re: dog to defend your home is a huge can of worms. If the primary reason for getting a dog is to defend your home you better want a dog as a lifestyle choice and companion. If you want a real protection dog you need to get it as a puppy with one that has been hand selected for it's dominant personality and go through specialized training so you can control the animal. I have to wonder if anyone who is obsessed with bikes as much as we are and has a day job has the time for that. It is a full time hobby. Training aside, dogs need several hours a day of attention in the form of exercise, socialization and affection, no small commitment.

From a cost benefit point of view you are almost always better off installing an alarm system.

I agree about dogs as being family first and alarm systems second, but we wanted both and we have both. Monty was not trained as an attack dog, he's very social but he's naturally territorial and protective. Most Shepard dogs have some of these characteristics...they protect their herd but are social. Many dogs are naturally protective and will bark to announce people...they may not attack, but the bark is a warning and intimidates intruders looking for low risk. I also love coming home to him, walking him and taking him to the park - though he is a commitment.

My house security program is run by a 120lb Wolf/Malamute hybrid. She's extremely intelligent, and very protective of her territory and family. She's more than enough to discourage people from entering my home without consent. She also has backup, a 20lb American Eskimo and a 4lb chihuahua. Those two aren't going to scare anyone away, but you'd have to be a pretty stealthy ninja to escape their very attentive eyes and ears. They are always the first ones to detect even the slightest of sounds, and their piercing bark immediately puts the big one at attention.

Okay, now put the owner in the house and break in in the middle of the night. I'm pretty sure if the owners were panicked, the dogs wouldn't be so friendly.

I'd feel pretty bad if someone entered my home without my ok. I'm very confident my dog would discourage any exploration very quickly. She's a great dog and very friendly, but she takes a strong interest in the role of protecting what is hers and mine.

I know Monty pretty well...and he's a sweetheart, but he also has a definite sense of his pack and his territory. He certainly never needed training for that, it's his nature. You can't train that out if him. If someone broke in and tried robbing us I'm about 75/25 he'd try to stop them. If someone made the mistake of threatening his pack, I am sure that he would do his absolute best to protect us. I agree that if your only interest is protection, an alarm is the way to go...but if you want a loyal family member who gives joy, love and, as a side benefit, will scare most off and do his best to defend you, dogs are wonderful. I have more faith in Monty than an alarm system or any weapons...but I also think he's an especially great dog. Not that I'm biased ;)

Stick!

Well, actually, it's just a gratuitous George photo....

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...01824604_n.jpg

George has a heck of bark, doesn't he. :)

what a sweet looking pup.

He almost took my hand off in Madison.

Well not quite, but I wouldn't push my luck with him. :)