Pets during an apocalypse?

I think it's more of a situational sort of thing. A dog will bark, sure, but if he knows it's a serious situation he'll be quiet so he can hear properly any movement in the surrounding area. Dogs can be used to scout areas, dogs can detect predators especially in the night when you are asleep and vulnerable; they can also help with hunting by either doing the attacking or chasing game towards your area. I still think a dog would be a sort of additional help, but yes, it also depends on the breed. Some dogs really belong indoors, while others are more in tune with the outdoors and survival.

 

Oh, a gun nut, how sweet Those "pets" will surely run out of "booolets". What will you have after that happens? A smile perhaps?

 

It was funny, after reading through this thread I came across 'The Apocalyptic House Cats' on Amazon, a book about former pets and how they were dealing with an apocalypse. It was more fantasy then anything but I liked it, thought it was pretty interesting take on it all.

 

I was re-reading this thread and saw what you wrote above. Man, just reading that made me start getting mad.

Couple of rednecks drove out of their way to kill our dog. My dad witnessed it. I was heading outside -- I was like 16. Dad sez, "Get my gun." I go get his revolver. I thought that he was going to finish our dog, but our dog was killed instantly. He stood there and waited for the guys to drive back 'round. He was going to try to kill them.

My grandma / his mom found out who they were. They lived behind where one of my dad's brothers lived. Grandma forbade the family from telling my dad who they were. Dad would've killed them.

Maybe you need to raise a pack of death-dogs for when your perimeter gets crossed. While the interlopers are finishing off your monsters, you finish off the men.

One of my wife's friends lived way up in the mountains. This semi-feral dog starts hanging around her house. It had a rope for a collar -- it had no doubt been a bear-hunting dog that left its owner's pack, or the owner kicked it out. Turned out that it wasn't mean; maybe it wouldn't hunt. We gotta puppy out a litter it fathered and the puppy was not mean -- which was good, 'cause we got it for to look after our pack of children.

Maybe you need a pack of mean dogs big enough to be bear hunters. Feed'em road kill and scraps. Can you buy vaccinations from a farm supply store? Such are available here in the USA. Vaccinate them yourself, so the veterinarian will never see what you are raising for "special occasions". When a perimeter detector goes off, remotely unlock the gates of Hell and send out some of your visitor greeting representatives. You could let the festivities begin, then go do some follow-up work.

Years back, an acquaintance of mine assassinated an interloping redneck's truck engine with an FMJ.

There is only one way to deal with aggressors.

My blood pressure is still up.