We had an “alert” last night. In the end it was another non-event but since I think we all learn a lot from sharing and critiquing our strategies and responses I’m going to post what took place and leave it open to comment from everyone.
Our dog is a very alert and watchful, but quiet mutt. He almost never makes a sound except the occasional “yip” to alert me to the fact that someone or something is in/near our yard or a "bay" when he trees a possum. So when he went into full volume barking and baying indoors at roughly 2:15 AM I took it pretty seriously.
I got out of bed and by the minimal but sufficient light of the hallway nightlight I…
After Action “Self-assessment”
First, our dog is a GOOD dog <grin>!
Next, I was very pleased with how quickly both my wife and I were awake, alert, and ready to handle whatever the situation was. I won’t say we’ve done any sort of extensive practice but she’s put up with my insistence that we role-played through a few “rude awakening” scenarios to try and cover home emergencies such as fire, flood, or criminal activity. Even the minimal “dry-runs” that we’ve done were a HUGE help as neither of us “dithered around” wondering what to do, but instead dropped right into our action-plan roles.
I was frustrated by the “flashlight/magazine” fumble and I’m going to figure out a better way to keep the two items away from each other so I can grab them without looking. Even with the fumble I was “armed”, “lit”, and ready within roughly 18 seconds of being awakened by the dog.
We already had outdoor lights on the house for regular use, the floodlights and master switches are an extra addition I’ve just installed for emergency/special situations. They were worth every cent it cost to install them!
I didn’t realize until after the fact that I simply assumed (due to the dog’s posture and position at the end of the hallway) that nobody could possibly be in the house. Due to that assumption I walked right past the hallway door to the master bathroom without ever peeking in or checking that room at all. This could have been a serious mistake so I need to remember that in the future. I was, however, cautious about entering the living room where the dog was.
We usually keep a pen and pad of paper near the living room phone. The wife had borrowed it for her grocery list so I had to rummage around a bit to find something with which I could write down a description of the individuals in case the info was needed later. I had a conversation with the wife this morning about “borrowing” that pad and pen and how we really needed to keep something there and available. I’m considering adding a small pad and pen combo, or maybe even my old micro-tape recorder to the contents of the gun vault so I won’t have to scrounge in the future.
Critique and comments are welcomed.
Ze
Our dog is a very alert and watchful, but quiet mutt. He almost never makes a sound except the occasional “yip” to alert me to the fact that someone or something is in/near our yard or a "bay" when he trees a possum. So when he went into full volume barking and baying indoors at roughly 2:15 AM I took it pretty seriously.
I got out of bed and by the minimal but sufficient light of the hallway nightlight I…
- Punched in the code to open gun vault and retrieved my SIG 229 (which is kept in a ready state).
- Got the Surefire 6P which I also keep in that gun box. (Note, this was a fumble as I kept grabbing the spare mag for the SIG and it took some effort to locate/grab the flashlight).
- My wife grabbed the phone and her nightstand flashlight and went to “stand-by and observe” mode as I looked outside through the bedroom windows (I saw nothing).
- Moving to the bedroom door I could clearly see the dog’s rump down the hallway, indicating that he was interested in something he could see out the front window. I took this as a sign that nobody was –inside- the house and moved cautiously down the hall to where I could peek out the front window.
- With me present the dog quieted down to whining and pacing at the window. From that vantage point I could clearly see two individuals sitting on the front edge of my lawn. After observing them for a few minutes I moved around the other windows of our house and by the time I finished the circuit I was fairly confident that they were the only persons present and that they appeared to simply be having an argument of some sort.
- At this point I flipped the switch that throws on all of the exterior lights for the house (including the new 500 watt floodlights) and LIT ‘EM UP! Both subjects jumped to their feet and walked quickly down the street away from my house.
- I waited for a few more minutes, shut off the lights, and then observed a few minutes more.
- I then rechecked the doors/windows, gave my wife the “all clear” codeword, gave the doggy a treat and made a “good boy” fuss over him, secured my firearm and flashlight, and went back to bed.
After Action “Self-assessment”
First, our dog is a GOOD dog <grin>!
Next, I was very pleased with how quickly both my wife and I were awake, alert, and ready to handle whatever the situation was. I won’t say we’ve done any sort of extensive practice but she’s put up with my insistence that we role-played through a few “rude awakening” scenarios to try and cover home emergencies such as fire, flood, or criminal activity. Even the minimal “dry-runs” that we’ve done were a HUGE help as neither of us “dithered around” wondering what to do, but instead dropped right into our action-plan roles.
I was frustrated by the “flashlight/magazine” fumble and I’m going to figure out a better way to keep the two items away from each other so I can grab them without looking. Even with the fumble I was “armed”, “lit”, and ready within roughly 18 seconds of being awakened by the dog.
We already had outdoor lights on the house for regular use, the floodlights and master switches are an extra addition I’ve just installed for emergency/special situations. They were worth every cent it cost to install them!
I didn’t realize until after the fact that I simply assumed (due to the dog’s posture and position at the end of the hallway) that nobody could possibly be in the house. Due to that assumption I walked right past the hallway door to the master bathroom without ever peeking in or checking that room at all. This could have been a serious mistake so I need to remember that in the future. I was, however, cautious about entering the living room where the dog was.
We usually keep a pen and pad of paper near the living room phone. The wife had borrowed it for her grocery list so I had to rummage around a bit to find something with which I could write down a description of the individuals in case the info was needed later. I had a conversation with the wife this morning about “borrowing” that pad and pen and how we really needed to keep something there and available. I’m considering adding a small pad and pen combo, or maybe even my old micro-tape recorder to the contents of the gun vault so I won’t have to scrounge in the future.
Critique and comments are welcomed.
Ze
