good dog

I live in a neighborhood near downtown. I love my neighborhood, but it has some of the problems many urban neighborhoods deal with.

Lately I had been hearing from other neighbors that panhandlers had been knocking on their doors at night and last night it happened to me.

At about 10:00 pm, someone knocked on my front door. I opened the door without looking because I was expecting someone, and was surprised to see a stranger standing on the porch. He started to ask me to use the phone, at which point my large, male Great Pyrenees dog, who was standing next to me, informed him quite emphatically that the phone was unavailable.

The guy pretty much ran/jumped off my porch and scurried up the street. I called the police to let them know that a guy was knocking on doors at 10:00 pm, asking to use the phone, but for obvious reasons, they didn't seem that interested.

Once again, I am reminded that for those willing to deal with the work and responsibility of a dog, they are the best crime deterrent that exists.