Furry Home Protection System

One of the things you lose when you become a single mom is that security blanket feeling you had when there was a man in the house at night to protect you and the kids from whatever might go bump. It's even worse when that former blanket becomes the bump.
     Over a year after my ex moved out, he decided to let himself back in by forcing his way in the front door when the girls opened it. That was a little on the scary side. The local police took only about five minutes to arrive, but by then the damage could've easily been done.
     After that, I got up one day and noticed my daughter's pool (a plastic one with a slide) and her cool little crab sandbox were gone out of the backyard. A few other things were missing. The cat and nine-pound shitzeranian had done little to warn us of the invasion, and clearly the six-foot wooden fence had not deterred the thief. My neighbors all reported car break-ins and strangers looking in their back windows, which often aren't monitored by the video security cameras which are common in our neighborhood.
     My kid leaves the back door unlocked all the time. Even though I have a monitored alarm and a video camera, there was really nothing to protect us from intruders who chose to hang out on the back porch and wait for us to open the door.
     My daughter had been begging for a puppy. I wasn't sure but decided to look at a well known, trusted pet store on the other side of town. There, we found this adorable thirty-pound bowling ball with legs and teeth. I thought he'd been passed over by other customers and was older than the other puppies. I thought wrong.
     It turned out he was a "pet quality" three-month-old Johnson's American Bulldog. And a big kisser. I signed the $900 credit card slip and lugged him out of the store. My daughter was ecstatic. I've raised large dogs, several from "aggressive" breeds, so I was confident I could form this big lump of fur and gangly limbs into a well-behaved, loving member of my family and the safety net we sorely needed.
     It's been two years and Darth Shadow is fully grown, fully trained and weighs in at a hefty 120 pounds on a good day. He's popular with the elementary school crowd since he's spent most of his days walking my daughter and I to and from school. He loves to trick-or-treat and let strangers rub his belly. He's been tackled by a chihuahua and adopted a stray bully/boxer mix we named Leia. (You may catch a theme there.) Oh, and he's let us know every time a bunny farts in the backyard. Nothing else has disappeared, and I sleep 100% better than I had in years. You see, NO ONE enters our house, or even yard, without first asking my permission and I don't have to worry about my big boy accidentally taking out a member of my family because his nose is a lot smarter than your average handgun. (None of those in my house BTW. Never will be.)
     Am I afraid of him chasing down neighborhood kids and eating them like you see bullies doing on the news? Absolutely not! I raised my baby bully well and he's better behaved than most of the ten-pounders I know. He's gotten out a couple of times. He let our neighbor walk him to the front door and eagerly ran right back inside the house. (You see, his food and water are inside. Why stay out?) Okay, the last time he sent the lawn crew scrambling to their truck, but that's because they insist upon teasing him through the back door and windows on a regular basis. He didn't try to bite any of them but it sure gave me a good laugh watching them scatter. They haven't teased him since and have learned to check over the fence to make sure he's inside before opening the gate.
     He's so friendly, can he really provide us effective protection? A few months ago, my daughter ran out the back door to find a forty pound bobcat waiting for her. That could've gone pretty badly but the cat wasn't interested in tussling with a dog three times his size, so it yowled its disapproval and hopped the fence, never to return. Our neighbors once again had issues with theft and break-ins. We did not.
     So, if you're a single mom and wondering how to keep your family safe, regardless of where you live, I highly recommend a dog. Don't go with the giant American Bulldog unless you're experienced in training the tougher breeds. (Raise a bully wrong and things can go horrifically awry.) However, even your basic Labrador will be an outstanding deterrent to anyone looking for an easy target, human, mammal or otherwise. All you have to do is feed him, train him (10 minutes a day), and love him. An occasional trip to the vet and a big bag of treats round out the cost of your new furry personal protection system, except this one will warm your feet, fetch balls and dole out wet kisses in return.