Open vs. Closed Rabbitry

[Peach]

I think it really depends on your location and personal comfort level.

We live in a very rural area (50 miles outside of Bakersfield), in the most conservative county in California. I have sold a lot more puppies than rabbits, and always have people come to our home.

Kern County is not a hotbed of ARA activity, being more agriculturally oriented. We have seven dogs and very aware neighbors that are either retired or work from home, so burglary is not something that is likely to happen. We are always armed- at home and elsewhere- and fully trained in defensive handgun, shotgun, and rifle techniques, so personal safety is not a pressing concern either.

We have met some really nice people, many with similar political and self sufficiency interests. Both Hubs and I really enjoy interacting with the buyers, and I like the fact that they are willing to stay as long as necessary to talk about proper care of the animals I am selling.

I personally prefer to see the living conditions and health of the other animals on the premises of any animal(s) I am considering purchasing. However, I would not hesitate to buy a rabbit at a show or have one shipped from a breeder of good reputation.

1) Side question: I had thought, until I read your statement, that Orange County was the most conservative county in the state. Maybe I'm behind the times?

2) re. animals/biosecurity: The closest situation I think we've come to with regard to animals is when we adopted our recently deceased Bernese Mtn. Dog girl in July 2000. She was 16 weeks old and we had a resident adult male Berner who seemed lonely for a playmate/companion (he was neutered before we got him). The breeders, whom we knew already, brought her to *our* house, to scope out both the house's suitability for a Berner puppy (stairs and such, plus area to potty-train her in) and the attitude of the adult male towards this female pup, who was less than one-third his size. We never did see the inside of their house in San Francisco! not, at least, for several months after that, so I think we can say that they had a "closed" kennel, back in 2000.

__________ Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:12 pm __________

I had a pair of young twins literally go NUTS in the barn, opening cages, dumping feed, feeding foreign objects and that SUCKED.

Oh. My. God. :shock: Where on earth were these kids' parents?! *One* cage should have had those parents hauling their kids back to the car, saying things like, "No bunnies! Not until you can act responsibly around them!" with an apology to you and an offer of the intended purchase price via a check or cash, notwithstanding the fact that you would still have the rabbit in residence.

I know that "laissez-faire parenting" is in vogue these days (esp. in the parts of the San Francisco Bay Area where I live and seem to travel), but that kind of destruction is actively harmful to the rabbits! :evil:

Needless to say, they did not get a rabbit from me! I did have to step in, but those kids were brats so they would maybe stop for a second and get back to it. The mom would just apologize for their behavior, but wouldn't lift a finger against them. That is not how I was raised! I pretty much add in my emails : No small kids unless you can keep them in control and hands to themselves. I also explain the story above, and they are very understanding. I am not there to do your job as a parent!

 

[skysthelimit]

I'd be curious if there has ever been data on craigslist danger. Are you more at risk meeting someone or having them come to your home. I suspect also that your risk goes up with certain items. I imagine selling electronic and jewelry are much more risky then a bunny rabbit.

Well, considering I live 45 minutes from the CL murders, I don't think my caution is unwarranted. Not even 6 degrees of separation connects me to the actual murderers. Several people have been killed just standing outside waiting for a bus, not like someone waiting for a bus is carrying or wearing a lot of jewelry. And someone took a puppy from someone while pretending to be a potential buyer, the breeder turned her back and the "buyers" hopped in the car and drove away.

Bunnies are valuable to the right people. Just ask the people who get their buns swiped off the table at Convention. A breeder I know had her daughters HL swiped at Convention, and saw her again on the table at the PaSRBA show! She did eventually get the rabbit back, but the doe was pregnant, and the kits are still missing.

So I see no reason to lead someone to my house on purpose. It's only me here, so I have to do the best I can to protect myself. Short of lying, anyone that comes here is going to know it's just me here. I'd rather be in a public place and drive away then lead them here. Especially when I was working, if you know I'm a teacher, you know when I'll be away from home.

 

[Comet007]

Needless to say, they did not get a rabbit from me! I did have to step in, but those kids were brats so they would maybe stop for a second and get back to it. The mom would just apologize for their behavior, but wouldn't lift a finger against them. That is not how I was raised! I pretty much add in my emails : No small kids unless you can keep them in control and hands to themselves. I also explain the story above, and they are very understanding. I am not there to do your job as a parent!

Below is my policy about children for my nail studio - I think it could be modified nicely for a rabbitry! Instead of the children…not permitted part it might say what the requirements/expectations are of children who come to see the rabbits. :lol: :lol: It is sad that we have to spell things out like that - I raised children who knew how to sit quietly in a nice restaurant by the age of two, and they knew what would happen if they didn't behave well! Not to say they couldn't raise the roof at times, but there is a time and a place for that, and it's generally not in public!


I love children, but due to insurance restrictions, safety purposes, and to allow you to get the most benefit from your service, children under the age of 12 are not permitted without an appointment, and may not wait in reception unless supervised by an adult. Clients visiting the retail area are welcome to bring children (glued to your side), but please be respectful of other clients’ who are enjoying their time of pampering – it may be the only time that they are doing something for themselves!

 

[Ramjet]

Closed in general tho I might allow select individuals view (not touch) my rabbits.

Most times I'll have them wait out front while my kids shuttle those for sale back and forth, they don't need to see what's not for sale. I don't care to argue about it. Often I will meet them at a location away from my home especially pet people , those that come off as strange or give me a bad vibe.

I'm not very trusting of strangers ... and in general just don't like people. Many times , I'd rather eat that rabbit than deal with the person trying to buy it. My attitude is product of my surroundings and really wish I could talk my wife into moving out of the city.

We are always armed- at home and elsewhere- and fully trained in defensive handgun, shotgun, and rifle techniques, so personal safety is not a pressing concern either.

You sure you aren't in Texas somewhere !? That describes a large percentage of Texas ...

My .45 is like an American Express Card - Don't leave home without it. (do they still run that commercial ?!)

 

[ckcs]

Well, considering I live 45 minutes from the CL murders, I don't think my caution is unwarranted. Not even 6 degrees of separation connects me to the actual murderers. Several people have been killed just standing outside waiting for a bus, not like someone waiting for a bus is carrying or wearing a lot of jewelry. And someone took a puppy from someone while pretending to be a potential buyer, the breeder turned her back and the "buyers" hopped in the car and drove away.

Bunnies are valuable to the right people. Just ask the people who get heir buns swiped off the table at Convention. A breeder I know had her daughters HL swiped at Convention, an saw her again on the table at the PaSRBA show! She did eventually get the rabbit back, but the doe was pregnant, and the kits are still missing.

So I see no reason to lead someone to my house on purpose. It's only me here, so I have to do the best I can to protect myself. Short of lying, anyone that comes here is going to know it's just me here. I'd rather be in a public place and drive away then lead them here. Especially when I was working, if you know I'm a teacher, you know when I'll be away from home.

I understand your concerns. Random killings certainly happen. We had the DC sniper where I used to live, I worked outside at the time and the media really got me concerned. I personally feel stranger danger is blown out of proportion by the media. Especially with parents and kids. Take 1999 for instance 115 kids were abducted by strangers, 50 of those kids died. It is a tragedy but in an average year 1000 kids are killed by their parents or acquaintance. Almost everyone I know thinks the country is going mad, people are just killing each other all the time. I hear it all the time "It is so dangerous now, it's not like it used to be". The reality though is in the past 20 years the murder rate and violent crime rate in the US has been nearly cut in half. I'm still unsure if meeting people is safer than having them come to your home. I'm also not sure the ARA fear is warranted. I've certainly read the stories on here. I think the really wacky ones will find you regardless of what you do. I will contend though that you are more likely to be reported about rabbitry condition (whether true or not) by someone you have let in your rabbitry.

I just found some statistics on a business site about craiglist, mentioning 12 linked deaths in the previous year
The number of Craigslist postings last year in North America: 573 million.
The percentage of those posts associated with serious crimes: 0.00005 percent.
Your odds of picking a random Craigslist post associated with one of those crimes: 1 in 2 million.
Your odds of being killed on an airplane: about 1 in 844,000.
Your odds of being murdered from your post on craigslist 1 in 47.75 million posts
You are 4 times more likely to be killed on craigslist than winning the powerball.

 

[grumpy]

No one goes in my home.
And they must always call before they come over.
"Show-ups" are turned away. No exceptions.


I'll tell them to drive down to the barn, I'll be waiting there.
If they choose to walk down, then that's on them.
I've got a gravel drive all the way down.

My work shop is built inside the barn and that's where we first meet.
After a few moments talking I'll suggest going to look at the rabbits.
9 out of 10 walk right past the rabbitry door. LOL They don't even know it's there.

Always........I explain how I expect them to act.....kids included.
There's only been a couple of times I've had to chastise kids over their behavior.
If their parents don't like it........we have a real short visit.
But, my situation is unique insofar as I only sell stock to prospective breeders.
My pet sales "ended" several years ago. I have no qualms explaining my position about it.

grumpy.

 

[skysthelimit]

I personally feel stranger danger is blown out of proportion by the media. Especially with parents and kids.

That's because you don't live in the hood, in the inner city.

It's not about statistics. It's about real life.

You have to know your area. I don't live in a peaceful, animal friendly rural setting. I don't live in a quiet suburb. I don't live in a small neighbor friendly town. I live in a stereotypical, high minority, inner city neighborhood, close to downtown and not far from the Projects, with a graduation rate of 38% and a large portion of the city on public assistance. Single mother families, average of 4-5 kids, no fathers, truant, wandering the streets in groups at odd hours. Every couple of days the college my sister in law attends (located in the downtown district) has alerts where students are not permitted to leave the building, cause yet another person has been mugged, and had their phone, book bags and purse stolen on campus that night. As a statement to the city, there is a new billboard that says that deaths in the country from heroine incidents has quadrupled in the last year. Go figure. More incidents of theft perhaps to pay for these drugs?

My actual neighbors have had their garages broken into and tools stolen. People rip siding off any house that looks slightly unattended, bust out windows and steal pipes. Two years ago they broken into our church and stole all our audio equipment instruments, antique candle stands, small statues. The power was shut off and every inch of that place is barred. It had to have been someone who had been there before, and knew how to access the underground back steps that only a member who has worked on that building would know. This was not the first time someone has tried to break in. You can't exactly keep people from attending a public church, but I can keep them out of my house.

My brother who lives in front, is always having lawn signs/ ornaments/ front gates, fencing, stolen off the property. Pieces taken off of cars. I've had a rabbit taken out of the grow out pen last summer, and I've had a dog taken off my property. The neighbors' kids let other people know I have rabbits, then I have strangers at my back fence trying to get a look. I asked the kids about the missing rabbit, and someone told me someone found that rabbit in their back yard, with a tattoo and that person gave it away. (I'm not buying that story).

The local kids are not bothered by the dogs. I caught them just about at my front fence, trying to get a look at them. They ran off when they saw me come out with a shovel. I had a talk with a parent, explaining that these dogs will bite if they cross the fence. Now they've taken to standing behind a vacant house smoking weed, and I caught them lighting fire to something behind my barn. Later the house they stood behind caught fire. Caught some others along side the barn, and they appeared to be looking through the window to see what was inside.


It's not an overly violent city. I do leave the house from time to time. Sure problems happen everywhere, so there is no reason to put myself in the way of them just for a few dollars. CL buns go for free-$5 here. In the scheme of things, for what Rex/SF/Angoras go for in the show world, it's more profitable to wait for a show, or to eat the buns than to sell them to pet people, who want to pay $5 for something. For $5 I let you come to my house, see something else so you can come back and take what you want later? I've learned that the less people know, the better.

 

[luvabunny]

I've already answered once, with my position on open vs closed rabbitry, so I won't go there again, but I do want to say that I think much of the problem of "sales" has to do with what you are selling.

I do advertise on craigslist, and recently also on facebook. I don't sell "Easter" bunnies, I sell when I have stock that I cannot/will not use for show / breeding. My bunnies don't cost 5.00. They start at 75.00 and go up.

I believe there is a very different attitude of person looking for a 5.00 Easter bunny for their spoiled brat of a kid, and the person who is looking to get a good start into stock that will help them with their future show / breeding career. My open rabbitry discussion was tilted toward the latter.

As I said, I do not just sell pets for the business of selling pets. I do not have people just show up with their 5 kids and all their friends in tow, to pick out the "cutest" one. If that were the case, I would definitely have a closed rabbitry and probably wouldn't be raising rabbits for sale at all.

My clientele leans toward the show / breeding aspect of rabbit raising, and the person who is willing to pay the money and take the time to get a good start. My ads always include a price. If you don't like the price, don't bother me. I have a waiting list.

 

[ckcs]

That's because you don't live in the hood, in the inner city.

It's not about statistics. It's about real life.

My comments are general statements and obvious each persons scenario is different. I fully support everyone's decision do what they feel is in their own best interest. I think as a whole people are overly paranoid about strangers. I don't presently live in the hood in the city (moved about 3 years ago) but I lived in one of the bad parts of town and have worked and sent my kids to schools in the downtown "hood". City population was 200,000 not huge but enough to just about make the top 100. Lady 3 doors down was raped, my neighbor had his truck broken into. Multiple sex offenders in the complete. Not to mention many break ins. When I was knocked out and robbed it was in the "hood". I was delivering pizzas. It sucked but it happened once in 15000-20000 deliveries that I made over the years there. My children spent 7 years in magnet schools that were in the "hood". The were the minority (3-4% white) and there was no more problems in their schools then in their current school which is not in the hood. I only point out race because my experience is most white people fear other races which is just more paranoia. I remember at our previous place (apt complex) my mom came to visit. She had just got a new cover for her spare tire on her suv. She asked me if she should take it inside because it might get stolen. I had to laugh. By that time I was self employed and had lots of tools in my truck. I explained to her that in 12 years I've never had stuff stolen from my truck. Some of the equipment was bolted down but there was plenty to steal and I never locked my doors. You also didn't need a key to start the truck.

I think most of our security and precautions just make us feel better and that is ok. Here is something that will frighten many on here. Lock your bottom lock on your frontdoor (not the deadbolt). Most people only lock their deadbolt at night. Now go outside and try to open the lock by sliding / pushing a credit card like you see in the movies. If your lock doesn't have a guard on it, the door will almost always open.

I just don't think many people selling rabbits are going to be targeted for crime. I'm not aware of any article on this. Not wanting people in your home for personal reasons is a separate issue. My comments are only directed at the stranger danger aspect of selling rabbits. Most of the dangers of craigslist seem to be personal ads, high value items and buyers not sellers.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

You are 4 times more likely to be killed on craigslist than winning the powerball.

Darn! I've always hoped I'd win PowerBall! Guess I'd better watch those Craigslist ads - seems like they're more dangerous! :lol:

Seriously - thank you, everyone, for your input.

I advertise on Craigslist and - so far - haven't had any problems. I specifically advertise MEAT RABBITS and sell those almost exclusively to people that want to breed. I also raise Rex rabbits and those go to mostly to folks that are into showing rabbits. I always put the prices in the ads and I don't discount.

I do all I can to screen people via email and the phone. They usually don't get directions to the place until a day or two before they arrange to come out.

Nobody goes into the house. I meet them in the driveway, let them in the gate, and walk them to the barn. I caution children to behave because if they scare or bother the rabbits, they'll have to leave. I then look the parents in the eye and tell them if the kids can't behave, then they need to stay in the car. Only once did I have to say something and the wife took the kids to the car.

I want to close the rabbitry for all the reasons stated by everyone else. The rest of the family does not. The feeling is that we haven't had any problems yet so why go to all that bother. Anyway, let's just say it was a vigorous conversation and I got voted down.

So, for now, I'm planning on spending a little more time screening potential buyers. Guess it may seem kinda weird - advertising on something so public as Craigslist, and then worry about what you get. Guess it's what you could call a dilema.

Oh well. Thank you again, everyone, for all your input.

 

[Ramjet]

I personally feel stranger danger is blown out of proportion by the media. Especially with parents and kids.

That's because you don't live in the hood, in the inner city.

It's not about statistics. It's about real life.

You have to know your area. I don't live in a peaceful, animal friendly rural setting. I don't live in a quiet suburb. I don't live in a small neighbor friendly town. I live in a stereotypical, high minority, inner city neighborhood, close to downtown and not far from the Projects, with a graduation rate of 38% and a large portion of the city on public assistance. Single mother families, average of 4-5 kids, no fathers, truant, wandering the streets in groups at odd hours. Every couple of days the college my sister in law attends (located in the downtown district) has alerts where students are not permitted to leave the building, cause yet another person has been mugged, and had their phone, book bags and purse stolen on campus that night. As a statement to the city, there is a new billboard that says that deaths in the country from heroine incidents has quadrupled in the last year. Go figure. More incidents of theft perhaps to pay for these drugs?

There are many area's like that here in Houston and I live not far from one of them , I can relate having grown up in a similar area.

If I were in your shoes , I'd be looking for some protection with a bit more stopping power than a shovel .... Not sure what the gun laws are like in Ohio but I'd damn sure look into them.

 

[Comet007]

We are on a slow track to getting our concealed carry permits, reading these posts make me want to speed the process up lol!! We actually live in a very safe area - there's only one way off the island unless you have a boat, so that might help. Plus I think that we have something like 70% retired people of the 25,000 who live on the island. We did have a rather famous case from a local teenager who was breaking into houses, cars and whatever for quite a while. He would even steal boats - and shockingly enough small aircraft! With no training whatsoever he stole small planes (on several occasions) and when it came time to land he would just crash land somewhere, and somehow walked away unscathed. He actually traveled around different parts of the world wreaking havoc and eluded capture for quite some time. I think he ultimately got caught in the Bahama's or something like that - I think he was called the "barefoot bandit" and is currently serving time. Just goes to show that even quiet communities can have SOME problems and it pays to be safe.

We primarily raised our children in a small mountain community of 3,500 in Northern California - it has been going downhill with the drug trade for the past 10 years. Now there is a seriously bad meth problem, and I think it's no longer such a safe place to raise a family.

That said my reasons for keeping the rabbitry closed are more for disease prevention and because I don't want to be spending half my time touring my clients through the rabbitry - and the liability issue because of the little slope to get there and the fact that most of my clients are over 60, with many artificial joints between them!

 

[ckcs]

We primarily raised our children in a small mountain community of 3,500 in Northern California - it has been going downhill with the drug trade for the past 10 years. Now there is a seriously bad meth problem, and I think it's no longer such a safe place to raise a family.

The county I live in is approximately 33,000. We have had several meth labs found locally in the past 3 years. It kind of took me by surprise as when I live in the city of 200,000 I never heard about a meth lab in the 20 years I was there. Recently 3 or 4 businesses got shut down for selling Spice. One shop in 18 months did 3.5 million dollars.

 

[Comet007]

It can happen anywhere. I do think that in small communities word gets out faster about these things. Usually before my kids were home from school each day, I would know if they had done anything that they needed to be talked with about! People would bump into me around town, or call me at work/home to tattle on them - they never did get away with much lol. My mother in law told me once that people would tell on ME to HER, like if I was in the bar shooting pool without *gasp* my husband being there! She would just laugh and ask them if they really thought I would listen to her if she tried to tell me what to do. Someone even once called me at work to tell me they saw my husband driving North out of town during the work day - they thought he might have been going fishing and playing hooky and thought that I might want to know where he was! Crazy stuff, but it did come in handy that we would hear about suspicious looking transients, or that the parks were starting to have undesirable elements hanging around. Several of the young people that my kids were friends with in High School have been pulled into the drug world and are currently lost to addiction to meth. One of my son's former classmates just murdered someone a few weeks ago - it's believed it had something to do with drugs (his dad is a meth dealer and the young man has a meth problem).

In a larger community I think that the information doesn't get out as much - sometimes people don't even know their neighbors after living side by side for years. Still, as has been mentioned by others, we have to use basic caution, but we can't walk around the world as if everyone is a source of danger. Or, for those who take self protection very seriously, we arm ourselves to try to prepare for potential danger, but then take steps to avoid it in the first place. Not inviting strangers into our homes/rabbitries does seem like a reasonable precaution, though I'm happy to hear that many have never had a problem! There are still decent people in this world.

 

[Ramjet]

The county I live in is approximately 33,000. We have had several meth labs found locally in the past 3 years. It kind of took me by surprise as when I live in the city of 200,000 I never heard about a meth lab in the 20 years I was there. Recently 3 or 4 businesses got shut down for selling Spice. One shop in 18 months did 3.5 million dollars.

Cooking meth SMELLS .... that's why there is more cooking in rural area's where there are fewer people to notice the odor.

In a larger community I think that the information doesn't get out as much - sometimes people don't even know their neighbors after living side by side for years.

This is a sad truth. I've lived in this house for right at 10 years now , the neighbor on my left .... I have spoken to only a couple times (your pit bull is eating my fence!) and have no idea what his name is. The world has changed a lot over the past couple decades , I remember in my youth , we knew and spoke to all our neighbors regularly.

One of these days I hope to escape this city of 4.5 million for a more secluded setting .... out in the middle of nowhere.

 

[skysthelimit]

There are many area's like that here in Houston and I live not far from one of them , I can relate having grown up in a similar area.

If I were in your shoes , I'd be looking for some protection with a bit more stopping power than a shovel .... Not sure what the gun laws are like in Ohio but I'd damn sure look into them.

I don't do guns. I'm not anti guns for everyone, I'm just anti gun for me. I'm not sure how much is about my religious upbringing, or how much is me.

That's why I have three German Shepherds. An heir and a spare. It takes a few bullets to stop each one, and by that time I'm out the back window. The average home invader isn't carrying that much fire power.

Having always grown up in the inner city, I've never had that nice neighbors/safe streets experience. You just know to come in when it gets dark. If it's not the street violence it's the racism from nicer neighborhoods. I know every one isn't bad, but I definitely know there are a lot of bad folks out there, and I rather be prepared than sorry.

 

[Comet007]

I don't do guns. I'm not anti guns for everyone, I'm just anti gun for me. I''m not sure how much is about my religious upbringing, or how much is me.

Than's why I have three German Shepherds. An heir and a spare. It takes a few bullets to stop each one, and by that time I'm out the back window. The average home invader isn't carrying that much fire power.

I'm a very religious person, and after much research I am very much in favor of responsible people being/becoming gun owners - and having a concealed carry permit, whether or not you actually carry concealed. Partly because of the increase in gun ownership and concealed carry permits has caused a large number of criminals to decide to case houses and break in when no one is home vs. at night while there are people in the house. I've watched interviews of prison inmates who said that the increase in gun ownership makes them worry about whether the intended target might be armed - so they opt for crimes where there is less likely to be a human encounter. I also believe that rights that are exercised are rights that are kept. Of course, people who don't think they could actually use it are better off not having one, and naturally owning large dogs is a great deterrent as well! I don't think my 20 pounds of dog (our two combined!!) are much of a deterrent, except when it comes to making noise.

A few years back my daughter was home alone in her apartment and her little Yorkie/Chihuahua mix started growling and barking and she heard someone at a window. She went to look and a man was running away from the window. Even a 7 pound pup can be a good deterrent!

 

[ckcs]

That's why I have three German Shepherds. An heir and a spare. It takes a few bullets to stop each one, and by that time I'm out the back window. The average home invader isn't carrying that much fire power.

I think dogs are a very effective deterrent to crime. Most criminal would just assume avoid them. I grew up with Shepherds and love them. <br /><br /> __________ Wed Mar 05, 2014 12:56 pm __________ <br /><br />

I'm a very religious person, and after much research I am very much in favor of responsible people being/becoming gun owners - and having a concealed carry permit, whether or not you actually carry concealed.

I grew up around guns (hunters and my dad was a police officer) but have never owned one myself. I do plan to get one in the next few years though. My ideal place to live would be on a farm with some big dogs outside/inside and multiple guns inside. I hear the dogs barking, I grab the guns lol

 

[skysthelimit]

My ideal place to live would be on a farm with some big dogs outside/inside and multiple guns inside. I hear the dogs barking, I grab the guns lol

That would be idea.

 

[Ramjet]

There are many area's like that here in Houston and I live not far from one of them , I can relate having grown up in a similar area.

If I were in your shoes , I'd be looking for some protection with a bit more stopping power than a shovel .... Not sure what the gun laws are like in Ohio but I'd damn sure look into them.

I don't do guns. I'm not anti guns for everyone, I'm just anti gun for me. I'm not sure how much is about my religious upbringing, or how much is me.

That's why I have three German Shepherds. An heir and a spare. It takes a few bullets to stop each one, and by that time I'm out the back window. The average home invader isn't carrying that much fire power.

Having always grown up in the inner city, I've never had that nice neighbors/safe streets experience. You just know to come in when it gets dark. If it's not the street violence it's the racism from nicer neighborhoods. I know every one isn't bad, but I definitely know there are a lot of bad folks out there, and I rather be prepared than sorry.

I wont knock you for your beliefs ... I'm a rather religious person myself ..... BUT .... I just couldn't dream of the consequences my family could face in many a situation if I weren't armed.

I hate the thought of taking a life ..... but I hate the thought of some ******* taking the life of my wife & kids more.


Like I said , I grew up in a neighborhood much like the one you describe ..... and have seen more than my share of sorrow. I'd rather be able to put an instant stop to it than not ......



Hey , rabbits! I love rabbits! All they ask me for is a bit of feed in exchange for their affection ..... Really , some of them show genuine affection ..... (Or am I crazy?!)

Damnit , I thought raising rabbits was suppose to be easy!