Awesome story... I would have loved to hear the conversation between them three dogs afterward.

Dog 1 (the one that sunny tore up:

"You know that big ol' black dog that came by here earlier?"

Dog 2 & 3:

"Yeah?"

Dog 1:

Don't bother screwing around with her, She's bigger than us, and much meaner!"

Dog 2 & 3:

*giggle* you mean she kicked your ass?

Dog 1:

"hey shut up man, How was I supposed know she was bigger than me?!?!

Dog 2 & 3:

(sounds of howls of laughter)

I don't know Rachel; sounds to me like it's about high time Rupert took you out for a night on the town. It would seem by your recent entries, your life has literally gone to the dogs. Stories of poop, puppies and pussycats, are the gateway drugs to "Cat Lady" status, so be careful, next will come crocheting commentary, and shawl wearing shushing. Consider yourself forewarned.

I had the same thoughts regarding the incident as Rupert and your Ex; dogs are very protective of their owners, despite how real or imagined the perceived threat may actually be. I once recall walking Hunter, my 100lb+ Chocolate Lab, when this one time, one of those little Mini-Doberman "rat dog" things came running up to us yapping its head off, and what have you, getting all aggressive like, and off its leash to boot. Hunter looked at the "dog", then looked at me all confused as to what to make of it, and then let out a loud, convincing woof at the "rat", to make it scamper away, so we could keep walking. Well the ornery lil cuss took offense at the woof, and proceeds to nip Hunter on the snout in disapproval.

Before I knew what's what, Hunter has the "rat" in his mouth giving it a good hard shake (something he did with all his toys), which the "rat" very clearly disapproved of. Justt then the "rat's" owner makes the scene, looking all horrified, and screaming in terror, a litany of obsenities directed at Hunter and I. I yelled out "No" at which point Hunter dropped the "rat", like a kid who just got pinched with his hand in the cookie jar, and went and cowered behind me like the true "hero" he is, as the Lady began her verbal assault at me, grill to grill, coddling her shaking pet rat in her arms.

I simply locked eye to eye with this woman, and very firmly, sternly, and crystal clearly said "Leash Law", and then looked at her whimpering rat, shaking my head at the nonsense this critter had started. I tugged Hunter's leash to indicate it was time to go, turned around, and we started walking home again, leaving the woman and her rat, both equally appalled, and dumbfounded. I seriously to this day, don't think this stupid woman grasped the severity of the situation, nor how close her precious pet rat came to having it's neck broken due to her negligence.

They say most people pick pets that they're the most compatible with personality-wise. I suppose, the reason they are so compatible sometimes, is because they are both idiots. Nuff said.

Have fun ;)!

First, that photo of Sunny is absolutely hysterical. She's sneering like, "Yeah, whaddya gonna do about it, huh? You gonna take me on? I thought not."

Second, whenever I see your ALL-CAPS admonishments to people asking if they want their pets to die, I think of that lolcat photo with the CRAZY-looking cat that is captioned: "DO YOU WANT KARATE?!?"

And third, Sunny sounds awesome. And the fact that she came when you called her back from chasing the other dog should be a dead giveaway that the fight was all about you. :-)

I learned the lesson of carrying two poop bags the hard way. I hate stepping in someone else's dog crap and I don't want someone else stepping in my dog's. So I'm pretty good about picking up the stuff. While on our walks there is certainly a lot of sniffing and peeing, but the dookies are usually kept to the singular. Usually.

Then one evening I had just finished throwing the poo bag in a garbage can at a local park when we started walking past a busy soccer game. My lab sniffed a good spot, started doing the spinning helicopter move again, and to my embarrassment hunkered over to take another nasty dump. In full view of about 20 soccer spectators. And there was nothing I could do about it but look like an ass.

So remember, people, TWO bags per walk. Or more if your dog has been eating Mexican food.

For me the pit bull story that comes darn close to making up for the zillions of TOTAL IDIOTS with pits is this:

I'm standing in line at PetSmart behind a guy with a pretty gray brindle pit. He's obviously got a macho complex going on (spiked collar for the dog and all), but the dog isn't going along with it- she melts into a pile of happy wagginess when I smile at her.

He finishes paying for his purchases and moves to go.

"Come on, Killer."

The dog doesn't move.

"Killer, come ON!"

The dog gives him a submissive look but doesn't budge.

*lowering to an embarassed mumble* "...Sweetie, let's go."

The dog trots off happily with him.

Some dogs are great no matter how asstastic their owners are, it seems.

Oh, and I'm rusty about the exact procedure, but you should be able to call Animal Control and report that a dog from (x) address jumped its fence and threatened you and so far as you know is still at large.

Heh... we had a Ridgeback when I was younger. She was dopey, laid back, and calm: unless you startled her, then she became the Dog the Ate Your Head...

Another breed that's entertaining is the Basenji. They're a small dog (maybe a foot-and-a-half at the shoulder), and unable to bark (they yodel). They're also completely docile with family. With strangers, however, the absolute BEST you can hope for is controlled psychotic: if you're not family (or with family), then you're lunch. The girl we had when I was a babe once took on thre German Sheperds who had gotten into our yard: they went running home, while Heidi was pissed that they had gotten away (she had *A* hole in her back from them: they were much the worse for wear)...

Always thought training a combo (basenji and ridgeback) would make an interesting duo, especially for Spoon...

I NEVER allow my dogs to poop in other people's yards.

It's much more entertaining for me to use a 9-iron to chip their poops over the fence into my neighbor's yard.

Good Sunny.

"(which is when I saw his balls so I know he was a male)"
Yes, it's that crisp writing style that keeps bringing me back. As to Sunny's toothy photo: Looks to me like she's thinking, "I'm special, and I feel good about it, darn it!"

Wonderful story! I too have seen that look of satisfaction in a dog's face. A look of mission accomplished. I live in the mountains of TN and have seen bears, boars as well as other game on my property. On two occasions I have been awakened by Mosby, my St. Bernard, making a long , low menacing bark. Both times after grabbing my hogleg and going to the back I discovered Mosby intimidating a black bear. Now Mosby is a big dog but the 1st bear was over twice as big and the 2nd was one and half times larger. To make matters even scarier I'm certain, although I didn't see it, that Mosby chewed on the 1st bear. In both cases the bears finally decided that retreat was the best course of action. In both cases Mosby took off after the bears and wouldn't come when called. In both cases, although I love the damned dog to distraction I just couldn't bring myself to go running off in the woods, in the dark after him. In both cases in just a little bit he returned with the above mentioned "look of satisfaction."
Now that I've established that he's a big, tough dog I'm required to admit that if there's any thunder within 20 miles then he gets a whimpery, trembly and tries to crawl in bed with me

Rachel, please give Sunny an extra belly-rub and tell her it's from me and your other readers, who are very glad she stood up for you when it counted.

Good dog.

Yay, Sunny! Great story, Rachel.

GOOD GIRL, SUNNY!

And Rachel, Animal Control should be knee deep involved with that pit bull. What happened with you and Sunny may not have been his first time, but it likely won't be his last if something isn't done.

Who's a good girl? Sunny is, that's who. Yes she is. Yes she is. Uff. Ufff. Woof.

Poor old Rhodesia. She gave us gold and good dogs and nutjob dictators popular at the UN.

Well... lessee... Sunny made short work of that mean-ol' Pit Bull.

Good Dog! Two biscuits!

As for a follow-up, Animal Control is good, filing a report of the assault with the local police is even better (uncontrolled and extremely dangerous animal, you know; most municipalities have laws against those sort of things, and the a*shole owners might just find themselves in front of a judge.) Here where I live, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpio has a Dog Posse which just loves to handle these sort of things.

As for the picture, that's one sweet princess who knows she rules the world.

And, just for that awesome post, I tagged ya!

I know you don't do memes, Rachel. But I had to tag someone and, tag, yer it!

Throw us a bone and click on my name and there's the meme. (I post only about once a week these days, so it should be at the top of the page if you choose to click sometime before tuesday...

I had a pit pull attack me and my dog and my son last summer. It squeezed UNDER it's fence. Scared the shit out of me. Pit bulls- for the most part- are going after dogs, because many of them have been bred and trained to fight (yes, the house was involved in illegal dog fighting - I live in Detroit.) My Greta probably could have held her own, but I didn't want that nasty beast to get it's chomper on her- their jaws are very strong, and lock-on.

As for poop - I have a cool bag that attaches to the leash. You can stuff about 10 or more plastic bags in there. I'm always prepared.

What a story! What an awesome dog. I've learned from personal experience never to underestimate your dog's ability to read a situation and immediately take a defensive position between you and whatever. I lived in Gainesville, FL around the time of the student murders there in the early 90s with my 90+ pound black lab. Our condo was an end unit and looked pretty much exactly like the rest of the condos in our development, and some drunk doofus wandered away from a party at one o'clock in the morning and couldn't find his way back. Unfortunately, he wound up at my front door, which was locked, and proceeded to try to open the door, then started pounding on it and yelling to be let in, and finally really putting his shoulder and full body weight into my front door. Of course, all I knew at the time was that a deranged maniac was about to kick his way into my house, but I need not have worried. Willi, the most un-aggressive dog I had ever personally known, was throwing her full 90+ pounds into my side of the door, literally roaring (not just barking) and going absolutely crazy, attempting to climb through it to get whatever was on the other side. I had never, ever seen her act like that. She was going absolutely nuts! I dialed 9-11 and at the same time essentially screamed as loud as I could that the cops were on the way and if the door opened, someone was getting a face full of lead. Scared the everloving crap out of me.

The cops were there in less than 2 minutes and had the guy on the ground in cuffs before his buddies came out to claim him. The guy was completely wasted and the only thing that stopped that situation from going down any number of other ways, all bad, was a dead bolt lock.

Ha! I love these comments!!! Y'all are the best.

Tuning Spork - I'm gonna do the meme. Working on it as we speak. :) Post tomorrow probably.

Hilarious picture of Sunny, great story, I'm happy and relieved by the ending. Are you certain Sunny doesn't have some laughing hyena in her? That picture makes me wonder. Hyena's have a matriarchal society and the alpha queen is the is the dominant ruler. Sounds to me like that description fits her, or you! I for one can attest to this phenomena. At our house, Spicey (our female border collie/english setter mix) rules and dominates us (in a nice way) and rules and dominates Flame (our male german shepard/hound/wussy mix) in a not near so nice way. I use the term male in the loosest possible manner seeing as both pups have been put in neutral, so to speak. I write this as I'm peeling apples for pies to be given to mine and my wife's dad for Fathers day and feeding the dogs the apple peelings?!?!?! If they see us eating anything they think they're entitled to join the smorgasbord. Flame gulps it down without tasting it, Spicey will carry it back to her bed to sniff and lick as if enjoying the bouquet and subtle nuances of flavor before she downs it, just like the queen that she is. Happy Fathers day to all!!

Actually, in most of the multidog houses I know the ultimate ruler is a matriarchal bitch... many males are too laid-back to want to bother. (Though those that aren't tend to be unshakeable and hang on as Fearless Leader until they die of extreme old age.)

See - I wouldn't even care about the shiting so much, but I have a robotic mower that doesn't like water. So if the mower runs over shit I have to spend a lot of time getting said shit out of the treads. Normally people would just take the hose to the mower and call it a day. I can't do that - so the shit really irritates me.

Regarding the dog jumping the fence - I bet 10 bucks it will fall on deaf ears.

While I love dogs.. I think at least half the people that own them - shouldn't. It can't be the first time the dog jumped the fence. This falls under a certain type of owner, and they dont understand the risk they are putting themselves in. In my town it is hard to get animal control to do anything about these types of things because they just get so many dog related calls.

About 10 years ago, I briefly worked on a dog magazine and monitored the website's e-mail inbox. Almost every Monday, I'd find e-mails that said, "My dog is bleeding. What should I do?"

I was severely tempted to write back, "Please take your dog to a rescue group today so that it can live with a human who possesses more common sense than you do. Why didn't you immediately call a local veterinarian, you MORON?!"

What terrifies me more is the thought that those dumb@ss dog owners might be raising children. Egads.

One thing that gets me is that some folks are too squeamish to have their pets spayed and/or neutered.

I know someone who has multiple dogs... OF COURSE he had the female spayed. But he couldn't bear to have the dogs castrated! I guess he was getting sympathy pains or something.

Meanwhile, at least one of the intact male dogs jumps the fence every chance he gets, and this guy has to roam the neighborhood looking for his male dog.

And years ago, when I was a kid living in Miami, they proposed larger fines for unspayed female dogs than uncastrated male dogs. Duh.

It's almost as if these doofuses don't realize that the females can't get pregnant all by themselves... it takes a male and a female to make puppies! Duh!

Read chapter 7, Being "Educated" & "Gittin' Brung Up"
from "The River Why" by David James Duncan.

It has a take on this dog problem that seems, somehow, *appropriate* for Ms. Lucas.
Cheers,
Fred the Fourth

I've seen defenses for why it's "not necessary" or undesirable, but I don't really buy them. Intact males are not only more inclined to roam, obsessed with females, and more prone to most forms of aggression, even if you have the nicest, most well-behaved intact male dog on the planet (and I have met some), it has a GIANT TARGET hung around its neck for all male dogs.

My dog is neutered. He is, however, like all Akitas, convinced that he is King of All Dogs Forever. He spends ridiculous amounts of time posturing at intact males that we meet, and he's not dog-aggressive- he won't fight unless someone jumps ON HIM. (Granted, someone jumping on him is sometimes predicated by his posturing, but that's why I keep an eye on him and haul him off for a time-out if he's being pushy for no good reason.) Males more prone to dog aggression are much worse- to them, the other dog simply having his balls is a reason to attack.

Why subject yourself (and your dog) to that if you're not going to show or breed?

Does your county have a People Control that you can call in addition to calling Animal Control? Because if those owners weren't out the door the second they heard their obviously aggressive dogs barking and causing a neighborhood-wide ruckus, they (the owners) need to be put down immediately. And when the owners are gone from home, those dogs need to be inside the house in steel crates. And neutered (actually, they need to be put into better homes immediately after being neutered and rehabilitated, they shouldn't be left in that house any longer)! It's owners like them that give dogs like mine a bad name. Meanwhile, Frank and I are good owners and have our dog under pretty good control, and our insurance company is cancelling us for having an "aggressive or exotic animal" on the premises. Really? Do they mean the calico? Because the pit bull / shepherd / lab mix is very well adjusted, thanks.

Oh, and we don't even let Rowdi pee in other people's yards (or even ours, now that we're going to be selling the house), because she has this super-atomic pee that burns the grass. What is that? We make her pee and poo only in common areas, and if we forget to take poo bags, we go back for the poo for sure. And Frank was actually accosted by a man one day when Rowdi did that hunched-back pee that looked like she was pooing when she wasn't! The man was driving by, stopped his car, and turned around to tell Frank that in our neighborhood, we pick up after our dogs when they [poo]. Who cusses at a complete stranger? And this guy was like 80! He was so lucky I wasn't with Frank, or I would have picked up the little shih-tzu poos that are always left on the common areas (because those yip-yap dog owners think they just don't need to pick up after their dogs) and flung it in that guy's car AT HIS FACE. Why don't you get on the chihuahua owners and get back to me? The little turds you see all around the common areas are smaller than my cats' turds, dude! You think my pit mutt could leave those? Idiot.

Oh, while I'm on poo stories, one day? That little brat Rowdi decided on a 2-mile walk that she wanted to poo a whole mile from home! So I picked up the poo, wrapped it up all nice and tight, and stuck it in her backpack. Let her carry it home. Ha! See how you like it, you dumb mutt!

carin, pit bulls do not have locking jaws. That is a myth.

Dogs in my neighborhood---Loathsome Acres---crap all over my lawn---rendering it a dangerous place on which to walk---or even to roll around.

So, I hire that "slow" kid from down the block---Little Neddy Low Ears---to find a safe path so's I can retreive the morning news---Alcoholic's Digest.

"Find a new career in alcoholism. Fall out of bed in the morning and.....there you are---at work!"

I'm pretty sure neighbors crap on my lawn, too.

Especially Old Missus Beasley---whose dress wig is made of gerbil pelts.

Because I often find magazines--and sometimes reading glasses---right next to the piles.

When's the last time you heard of a dog losing his glasses?

Probably years ago.

Anyway, I don't mind the piles.

[By "piles" I refer to the poops clusterings, not hemorrhoids. If I had hemorrhoids I would generally mind them. Unless I was feeling oppositional.]

I collect the piles and use them to make festive coffee mugs and candle holders, which I give to my neighbors around Christmas time.

Lance: ROFLMAO.

Rachel: Good for Sunny. Glad she is protective of you. That's what she's supposed to do.

I know they don't really "lock", but they have a very powerful jaws that hold on pretty well. The pit bull that attacked was trained in (illegal) dog fighting, so there was a really good chance my dog would have been hurt. PTL these people have since moved.

I love dogs, and I realize that I'm about to piss off every dog owner around; still, no apologies. Your large aggressive dog leaves you private property onto public property and threatens me, rightly putting me in fear of bodily harm (and I'm a 6'2", 200 lb Marine, Rachel), there's only one appropriate response.....front sight, press. If he's coming after you, he'll come after the kindergarten kid walking home from school.

And then a punch in the nose to the owner for forcing me to have to destroy what would be, except for his negligence, a fine animal.

Oh my gosh, doggie davinci's. You'll have to scroll down a little but now they've got puppies painting pictures!! A new career for Sunny and Digger!!

Good girl protects mama. I'd call the police. That dog would have attacked *you* if Sunny hadn't been there, and you should let them know that. They might not do anything but take a statement, but it needs to be on record for when it happens again. (Shouldn't involve you ringing their doorbell, either.)

I always take poop bags, even tho I have a fenced yard so my dog poops there 99.9% of the time. There's a guy who just started walking my route lately (with a pit bull, coincidentally, but a nice one) who never cleans up after his dog. Every single house on that street for about four blocks has shit in their yard. I'd be piiiiiissed.

Incidentally, someone mentioned this above, my father had his air conditioning unit replaced when I was in high school, and the installer asked if our dalmation was male or female. We expected that he was going to say that males would be a problem, because they lift their leg, but he said a female dog's urine is so harsh, it could eat thru the metal a/c shell within year. Crazy.

Fred,

Owner of a large breed with a reputation for aggression. (The dog himself is not.) Not pissed off. I would be if he'd gotten loose and someone decided to shoot him because they assumed aggression from the breed alone, but every owner with an Akita that allows their dog to become aggressive and to wander and then to finally bite some innocent is one more flaming moronic asshole making my breed a target for BSL.

OMG! Thank God for Sunny! GOOD DOGGY!!! You are hers and she wasn't going to let that no good son of a gun get to you. I hope my doggies would do the same...although in the one instance we have been attacked in the past I was the one doing the protecting.

My baby boy Kodiak (Siberian Husky) was an only-dog at the time and we were walking down the road. A neighbor breeds dogs (not pits, but ones just as mean looking) who managed to squeeze THROUGH their not so great fence. This guy came right at my dog ... so I started kicking him. My dog is a pathetic fighter. He is a lover. Luckily, the owner of said mean dog ran down very quickly...and they put up chicken fencing/wire all along their fence so that hasn't ever happened again.

I think my girl would have the heart to fight but she's getting old. :( And our current puppy boy is just too goofy and puppy-like to fight as far as I know...but I hope we never have to find out.

As others have said...call the police and make a complaint! I have nothing at all against pitt bulls as a breed. I've known some wonderfully friendly sweet pits. It's the owners who are stupid and don't deserve dogs (or kids for that matter). You seriously could have been killed. I don't necessarily blame the dog - the owners should have gotten him neutered and should keep him inside or leashed up outside (and supervised!). Very scary!

LabRat, I would be too. I was speaking pretty specifically about Rachel's incident...dog over the fence in attack mode in front of and aimed at you, not an assumption of viciousness on a dog merely roaming loose.

BTW, I particularly love Akitas; marvelous dogs, and I've never met a vicious one. I especially like their smaller cousin, the Korean "Jin-do Gae". They are the mascot for the Korean Marines, are renowned for their intelligence, toughness, and "bonding" to one family for life, and are considered a "National Treasure".

Your dog let out a big steamer?

Right next to a mailbox?

And yet you still went home for a bag. Lady, you have way more restraint than I can imagine ...

Fred- yeah, given that I'd be having heart palpitations and shopping at Lowe's at the mere thought that my dog could maybe get out of the fence... very different scenarios. And you're absolutely right.

I like Jindos, too. In fact you can pretty well count me in as a fan of any of the Nordic breeds, especially those native to the Korea/Japan/East Russian area. Just something about 'em.

I love that picture of Sunny. I'm in ur neighborhood, pwning ur pits!

No dogs poo in my yard, but my garden is always full of fresh cat shit. Perhaps I should re-gift it to the cat owners.

Bad Penny: "I'm in ur neighborhood, pwning ur pits" HAHAHAHAHA. I love it!!! I actually tried to think of a caption like that, like the lolcats thing, but I'm not creative enough. Maybe I'll start a thing where I have people give "loldogs" captions to my Sunny pics.

Fred Jameson: I'm totally on board with you there. I've considered getting a little .22 to carry (after I get a CHL of course) and I would have no problem plugging a bullet into a dog that charged me. No problem AT ALL. I wouldn't blame anybody for shooting my dog if she attacked them.

Hey by the way y'all, I learned today that the pit jumping over the fence and attacking Sunny is quite likely legally assault and battery. I'm thinking about calling the cops on their asses now.

AND! AND! Just this evening, walking her again, we went by a DIFFERENT house with a pit that almost made it over its fence! And it was an EIGHT FOOT FENCE!!!! The kind that's 6 feet of regular and 2 feet of lattice work - the pit had his paws clamping on to the lattice like a monster. I can't believe so many assholes have these dogs that they can't control, and they don't even give a shit. AGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

I don't have a dog but my mother's boyfriend does and whenever I'm over at the house it's always my job to walk the f*cker. Not that I don't like him, he's a great dog, it's just that I'm naturally lazy and I hate having to do anything that might require me to expend any serious effort. Probably explains why I have about $2 in my checking account right now because I spent the rest on fast-food rather than going to the grocery store.

Anyway, I have my own dog story involving my mom's boyfriend's dog. His name is Spencer (the dog, not my mom's boyfriend) and he's a Catahoula. They are descended from "war dogs" who went feral and interbred with Red Wolves by Native Americans after they were left behind by European colonists. They are energetic, independent, and can be VERY protective when they have a mind to be. If you leave them confined in one area for a long enough span of time, their "protection" instinct takes over.

There was one incident that nearly ended in catastrophe. I had just finished taking Spencer for a walk in the park and I stopped at a gas station for some gas and a snack. I left Spencer in the car with the key in the ignition, the windows cracked, and the A/C on full-blast because I was told by my mom's boyfriend that Spence would bark hysterically if anyone came near the car. I was waiting in line for the cashier when, low and behold, I heard Spencer barking up a storm at...something. I dropped my stuff and ran outside to find a man carrying a young girl (about 5 years old) who was wailing and crying into his shoulder. He asked me if that was my dog and I told him yes, and he told me the worst story I have ever heard in my entire life. It seems the girl had reached her hand up and tried to stick her fingers inside the cracked open windows of my car because she wanted to pet the "nice doggie", when the doggie smacked into the window and almost bit her fingers clean off. Her father spotted her and yanked her back at the last second, after which Spence started barking his head off and actually frothing at the mouth a little bit, which of course scared the bejesus out of that poor little girl.

Now, you have to understand, I had NEVER seen Spencer act like that ever before and I have never seen him act like it since. Other than that, the worst he has ever done is growl and bark when the doorbell rings, which is nothing to worry about since we have a cage to stuff him in whenever company comes over. And even then, he usually doesn't do anything to new people other than rest his head on their thigh and give them that doleful, "Will you take me for a walk? Because I'd really like a walk." look. I've even taken him with me to my sister's job (she assists at a ballet school for young girls) and he's never given any indication that he's anything but an overgrown puppy.

Fortunately for me, the father was a reasonable guy who agreed that since nothing serious had happened, nobody was at fault. Spence was only doing what came naturally to him and the little girl could hardly be blamed for wanting to pet a dog. But after that I always keep the windows rolled ALL the way up whenever I have Spencer in the car (including when I'm in it with him) and never leave him alone in the car more than a few moments.

As for dog poop, when I walk Spencer I usually take him for a short romp in the backyard, then a few laps around a big pond a few blocks from my mom's house. The romp in the backyard allows him to do a few twosies which usually holds him over until we can make it to the pond where he can poop as much as he wants and I don't have to pick it up.

Rachel, some breed are BIG with THICK skulls...22 may not get it done. They can be tougher than humans. If you decide to carry and don't want to go with a bigger caliber, be sure to get the meanest, nastiest .22 load available. Kim can help. After that episode, I'd definitely want some protection.

Girlfriend, I usually carry my Walther P99 (9mm) on my walks with Rowdi the well-behaved pit/shepherd/lab in my gun pouch (which has a little quick release string and also holds my iPod, phone, keys, epipen, permit, all that) on our walks. And I load with hollow points. People (we have lots of sex offenders here), dogs, you just don't know what you need to defend against. When it's not the P99, I carry my .38 special snubby revolver with SWAT-load prefrag'd ammo. .22 is not a very strong defense.

Rachel, third the motion on not using the .22. Use .38 +P minimum, preferably hollowpoint. Glasers will work, but I prefer the HP.

People who won't keep their dogs properly irritate me no end.