This morning I was reading my Bible at breakfast when I heard a long, drawn-out, high-pitched cry over the barking of the dogs next door. I’m used to distractions while I’m trying to study my Bible, so I just blocked it out. It kept on, and then I thought it sounded almost like a human scream. I listened closely for a few moments, but I couldn’t distinguish any words. I thought if someone was in trouble, they’d yell, “Help, help!” or something equally intelligible. I decided it must be some particularly loud bird call; maybe the dogs got a hold of a bird or something. I turned back to my Bible.

A few minutes later, Dann came down the stairs. “Did you hear that domestic disturbance?” he asked. I was a little startled. “I heard that high-pitched cry, and all the dogs barking,” I said. “No,” he said, “You didn’t hear the slaps and the obscenities being screamed?” “Uh, I missed that part,” I said. Dann put on his shoes and headed for the door. “Holy cow,” he said, “The fire department, Sheriff’s Office, and half the neighborhood is milling around outside.” He left to go to work.

Later on, Dann gave me a call at work. “Have you been listening to the news?” he asked. “No; what’s up?” “That disturbance this morning. It turns out that a small child was mauled by a stray pit bull. The child’s in stable condition at the hospital. The dog got away, but not before some guy stuck it with a kitchen knife. Be careful when you go home.”

Wow. I have several thoughts on this. One: How could I not realize that was a human screaming? I don’t really have a satisfactory answer to that. I’ve heard enough screaming (on TV and such) that I ought to recognize it. In my own defense, it was such a calm, peaceful morning otherwise, broad daylight, etc., and I couldn’t make out any words in the screaming, so it just didn’t set off any alarm bells in my mind. Two: What if I had been attacked? What if I am attacked? I really don’t want to get in a fight with a pit bull. I’ve decided to start carrying my Gerber EZ-Out, a serrated pocket folding knife that I can open with one hand. I used to carry it for “self-defense,” before I realized that it’d probably get me into more trouble than it’d get me out of. I also realized that I just wasn’t going places where I would need to use a knife. Now, it seems, I might need to use it in my own neighborhood in the suburbs.

I hope that kid heals up soon and is able to go on and live a relatively normal life. I also hope they catch the dog, or find it dead, or something. Until then, I’m going to have to be exceptionally wary when I’m going to my front door, or unloading groceries from the car.