When I worked the nightshift downtown, I would occassionally see groups of kids (I think) out at 3AM, hanging on the street corner. I can't tell you how many red lights I drove through... I wasn't about to stop at that hour...and decided I'd rather pay a ticket.

Also, coming out of a store, if I see anything that doesn't look right, I turn around and go back in the store and wait till things look good...

As for dressing the dog... whether people like it or if they think it's silly... they will still look, usually more than once! I had Sapphire dressed one day for a neighborhood walk, and we passed a dog (Pittie) who has chased us in the past. He looked at her and kept cocking his head and made no attempt to follow that day! I think her outfit had him confused so she didn't look so much like a prey item...

Great idea about the trial sized sprays.... and bee spray spays about 20 feet or more, lol. (For those long-distance stalkers!)

Poor Baby
 

OMG!!! A Fur-parent's worst nightmare; you are a very brave fur-parent, a HERO. I hope you get rewarded with lots of baby kisses!

I'm so sorry to hear about your terrible incident. People are just going nuts out there... I'm always on the look out too, but I have never heard of anyone so brazen as to take a dog while the owner is right there holding the leash. What a very sad thing. I hope you are both feeling well now.

LOL...Who/whatever it is that 'helps' us deserves our thanks...by whatever name we know them. :D

To be honest, I wasn't frightened at the time it happened...I am a 'panic after' person...very calm 'during' critical times, actually...then I fall apart...lol

But, to me, using common every day items is sufficient for most situations. You can find what you need almost anywhere, and something is nearly always handy, but, nearly as importantly, you never 'appear armed' yourself. Years before and for many, many years after, I carried a fairly large rock concealed in my pocketbook...yeah, go ahead and laugh...it was funny and I've laughed plenty at it...but that night I didn't take my pocketbook. I always chose a pocketbook with a shoulder strap with a front pocket of some kind for my nice, rounded smooth, large rock to slip down into. It made my pocketbook a bit heavier, but if I'd needed to, I was well practiced swinging a shoulder-strapped pocketbook. lol Practice with shrubs, by the way...no impact to YOUR arms or pocketbook and you can see how accurate your swing is...and practice with the old pocketbook you just replaced. :p :D

Oh wow...an orphanage, huh? My aunts and uncles were shuttled off to an orphanage when my father's mother died...she was their stepmother, but my father stayed with his elderly dad. The birth records from the family Bible also went to the orphanage with the older kids...one of his sisters had to go to court years later and 'legally swear' he was born. lol

I cannot imagine the reason for you growing up that way started out happy, but you certainly appear to have an absolutely delightful, positive outlook...this event is just very unfortunate. I still don't think you should fear going out alone in the dark. Just be prepared. Make contact with 'suspicious' ones just 'hovering' near entrances, etc...say "Hi" or "Good Evening" or "Nice Night" or "Cold Out Tonight" or something...no need to be too friendly though...make contact as you pass and move on.

I have never feared people, but I agree there is serious evil out there...caution is a good thing to exercise. I am so glad things worked out for you with Yazi.

It's kind of a 'catch 22' isn't it? While it 'could' put Yazi in a bad situation, so far, it has been shown to be in her very best interest for MOST others to see how loved Yazi is.

Carla, I'm just seeing this and I am so happy that both you and Yazmin are ok. It's a wonder that you both weren't injured badly. Those two guys are true heroes!:)

No kidding...a book on 'gut' instinct? Fascinating!

A topic for a different forum, perhaps...lol, but I do believe and wholeheartedly agree there is a 'connectedness' that we 'pick up on' at certain times...there is much we do not consciously 'know' but trusting that 'gut' instinct has saved many, from what other people have told me of their own experiences.

Leaving that elevator car like you did may have been the best thing you did for yourself...and us...that day..."us" because, while nothing negative that might have happened can be proven, but possibly because of your actions, you certainly survived, allowing us to meet you here on YT. :D

Oh yeah...Raid Wasp and Hornet...the ultimate fire hose for trimming off giant wolf spider legs...a doggone accurate spray nozzle. :p

That is so funny about the Pitt cocking his head trying to figure out what in the world Sapphire was! I can just see it happening and that 'arrrh' sound the cartoon dog "Scooby Doo" makes comes to mind with that mental picture, too.

You were wise to be cautious driving home like that. Once, in the "Combat Zone" in Boston, I watched a car stop at a red light and guys from the corner literally swarmed the car and started kicking and pounding on the doors, windows, top, hood and trunk of the car, denting it before the light went green and those poor people drove away. Nothing looked out of place to me...it happened 'just like that' as 'they' say...lol I suppose they could have known the couple inside car...revenge, etc., but it certainly 'looked' completely 'random' to me. Very freaky.

SA is always important. = Situation awareness. Usually I only read this on the gun forums. But ppl need to be careful everywhere you go.PPL are crazy. I ALWAYS have my key in had and gun on my side.

This is a separate issue, but an equally important one. If you see anyone fighting, call the police! This very sad statement is true. I knew of someone who was raped by her ex-boyfriend and he was following her. One day he followed her to the laundry mat and she started screaming and freaking out. He just laughed and said that she was his wife and not to worry. "He raped me!" was her response and still no one called the police.

That man that tired to steal your baby could have said/done the same and people would have just turned their back. Always be prepared - I'm glad to see such good advice on here! :thumbup:

Omg....just reading this and I am shaking ! I am so glad you were so brave and both you and jasmin are ok. I am just in shock!

I'm just now seeing your thread.

I can't believe what people are capable of anymore. I'm so sorry you went through this.

I'm thankful those men came to your aide, that helps restore your faith in people a little bit doesn't it. Yikes, I just can't imagine being in your shoes during that situation. So glad you're both safe.

Thank you! :)

I'm glad you got your Katie back and that she lived a long, happy life.

Very scary experience! I'm glad you locked the doors right away. I do that as a matter of habit now for safety. Although my doors lock automatically when the car starts to move, I don't want to be taken by surprise before I start moving.

I agree with SA and it is something that I have to actively remind myself of because I have been more preoccupied lately. Being a tall woman, I am not a typical target, but I think that is changing with the bad guys becoming more brazen. Last year, I had a man approach me in a Target parking lot in the middle of the day. I didn't break my stride and I put my hand up in the stop position. I was ready to throw my cup of hot coffee on him if necessary. Luckily, I scared him off.

Speaking of crazy, we had a guy in the DC area going to shopping malls and stabbing people in the rear end. :eek: He was eventually caught, but who knows what his motive was.

Stabbing people in malls?

It was one thing when we had the HIV needler (never caught and no not an urban myth as snopes says...) some weirdo poking people at Bay Area/Sacrament Area raves with hypodermic needles, I mean half the places were abandoned warehouses, people on drugs and dark, unsavory atmosphere...not a public mall in day light!

I guess there is something to be said about in plain sight.

What tge freak is wrong with these sickos?

I agree with SA as well, and it has always been my routine to lock the door before closing it...have locked myself out accidentally a couple times that way, too. LOL I keep my doors locked in or out of the car...always.

I rented a car once from the Columbus, OH airport then drove to Urbana. My directions 'ran out' along the way, so I stopped at the only open store for directions, but it didn't look like a highly reputable part of town so I wanted to sit there for a few minutes to size up the area and my situation before proceeding. The minute I turned off the ignition, all the door locks flew open. :eek: Not happy about that but not knowing the car or how to re-lock all 4 doors, I just went ahead into the store. It turned out that my hotel was across the parking lot, so I wasn't actually 'lost' nor was it a 'bad' part of town, but in the dark to a newbie, it looked bad...the car auto-locked all the doors when you hit 25 mph, but I have a very low opinion of cars with that feature to this day. ;)

I ride a motorcycle and here there seem to always be people walking up to cars stopped at traffic lights, begging for money for whatever cause they have. I despise this technique of fleecing such a captive audience as well as the danger of people walking in traffic. I have literally had to yell at people "Do not approach the bike!" more than once. Sitting at the red light, both hands and both feet are busy...feet holding the bike upright, left hand on the clutch, right hand on the brake. They even put the fire department in bunker gear out in the middle of 4-land highways with firetrucks parked in the median, blocking traffic's view of turning traffic...no problem, though...soliciting donations with taxpayers picking up the tab. I personally think we pay more for the fuel to drive the trucks there and for their salaries than they collect from people in cars. Ironic...:rolleyes:

We had someone here many years ago that would lie in wait under cars in the (little) mall parking lot and cut the achilles tendon(s) when people (women) returned to their cars at mall close...they wouldn't see 'him' under their cars when they approached so he would cut their heels while they were unlocking their car doors. This was before 'clickers' of course...lol They would fall down and he'd take their car, them, their purchases...whatever he wanted. It wasn't publicized, though, so people wouldn't get scared and NOT shop at the mall :eek:...very freaky. The mall is a little bigger now, but still really small compared to what I got used to before moving to FL...there is no way to know if anything like that still occurs, even with the 'mall security parking lot guy' driving the parking lot at night.

I am glad the guy in Target's parking lot took heed of your warning...at least you didn't have to waste your coffee on such an idiot. :p:D

As I recall it was called "Blink" by a guy named ?Gladwell/Gladewell? I think. Pretty interesting how we thin-slice so much about what we like or dilike, trust or distrust. It covers many instances of how those who trust that little voice within for no reason are so often glad they did. Like the time I wouldn't get on that elevator. The guy could have been a choirboy but something about him just sent bad vibes and I was gone in an instant. Better safe than sorry when you get "that feeling".

:thumbup::thumbup::D

I'll have to look into the book. It's not just people that do this, though. My Yorkies make those 'snap' decisions, too, and most if not all of my other fur babies have, also. For example, I had a Shep/Lab mix that never met the guy, but always barked when one particular UPS guy delivered near our house...even without seeing the UPS truck. He rarely barked, but it was always the same guy driving the UPS truck when he barked, and all the other UPS guys he never barked at...nor did he bark at other UPS or other kinds of trucks. There was 'something' about that one guy.

It is interesting to watch the Yorkies. We take them with us every where they are allowed to go. They normally love everyone, but occasionally, they dislike someone they've never met and bark and posture, too. It's not a male/female or adult/child distinction, either, or financial status...it seems to be very specific individuals they take immediate exception to. :D

Oh goodness, animals live by their instincts & instantaneous reactions. Theirs are much faster and more developed than ours. They trust them without a second thought as humans do. Often our reason overrules our gut.

I have heard of way too much of this kind of stuff going on lately..... so glad that you and your little furkid are OK.... So glad that you had that leash on your wrist!!!

Tis the season.... sad but true.