Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 7, 2023

11

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 7, 2023 

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges [www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com]


Meet Petite, Super 
Sweet—“MAKAELA”

You can't get a kitty more purr-
fect than Makaela, aka “Mikki,” 
age about 1. She is so sweet, so 
loving, so cuddly, and so friendly! 
She'll come right up to you for 
kisses, pets, and head bumps. She 
may even talk to you!

 She has the coat of a "mackerel/tiger" with a "bulls-eye" pattern--
very unique.She's a total delight! Mikki was found as 
a stray--how could anyone have ever put her in harm's way? 
Thankfully, a very kind and caring family rescued her and 
brought her to us. She's healthy, vetted, and microchipped-- 
ready to go to the very lucky purr-son (or people) who will make her a cherished part of 
their family. 

See more of her on our website's "Teen and Young Adult" page, at www.lifelineforpets.org.


LOW COST HOME 
DEFENSE

Your home is your castle! Everyone 
has heard that, and we 
all want to believe that. When 
someone’s home get burglarized, 
a common response is 
that the invasion of privacy 
hurt far more than any loss of 
material goods. We want our sacred home and 
we want no invaders. But how do we go about 
achieving that goal?

I lived in Los Angeles for nearly 3 decades, and 
I was very familiar with thefts, break-ins, and 
how it shatters the sense of security that we 
want. While none of my homes were ever invaded, 
I have plenty of first-hand accounts from 
friends, who shared what happened, and what 
was done afterwards.

First, let’s back up. I was originally one of those 
people who hid in their home, and pretended 
that the outside world didn’t exist. Out of sight, 
out of mind. 

In my neighborhood, there was once a string of 
robberies along our street where there was easy 
access to the homes from the rear. The thieves 
were mostly teens, involved in a gang. Mostly, 
the burglaries were done when no one was home, 
but in one case, an older man was home and the 
thieves tied him up, stole things, and left. He 
was not hurt, but he was never the same, and 
he moved away. But before he moved, various 
neighbors and I talked with him and realized 
that he never really thought about the possibility 
of a break-in, and therefore was very unprepared 
for what happened.

Today, wherever I live, my perspective is that I 
am not living in a house, I am living in a community. 
So a few of us on the street where the 
break-in occurred began by going door to door 
and organizing a Neighborhood Watch group. 
We had no idea whether or not we were doing 
it right, but we knew that to stop crime, we had 
to organize neighbors. We collected names and 
phone numbers of interested neighbors, and 
we drew a map of the immediate area with the 
names and phone numbers on the map. We distributed 
that map to all the neighbors, and then 
we found a neighbor willing to host the monthly 
meetings. These were very spotty at first, but 
gradually, after months and months, the neighbors 
got to know each other. And that meant 
that we knew if someone was in the neighborhood 
that we did NOT know. 

At our more or less regular meetings, we invited 
fire department personnel, police officers, local 
council people, plumbers, security workers, 
and anyone who could make us more efficient in 
working together to create a safe neighborhood. 
And it worked! 

We would get calls all during the day and night, 
and many neighbors would come out of their 
homes to investigate. We were able to effectively 
reduce crime, and stop burglaries before they 
ever happened.

So that’s Step One in increasing the self-defense 
quotient of your home.

Now let’s pull in from the neighborhood and 
look at just your place.

I was concerned about home when I first purchased 
a home in Los Angeles, and so I put up 
a fence! Yes, put up a fence! The fence begins 
to limit the routes of access onto your property. 
And sometimes since you cannot put up 
a fence everywhere, there might be some weak 
points, but the fence is still a top priority. 

Next, I put a dog inside that fence. And because 
it really was a mean dog, everyone figured 
that my fence was to keep the dog in, not 
to keep them out. 

Then you should take a survey of your entire 
property. Look for the weak spots where a burglar 
can get in. Sliding doors are easy to broach, 
as are louvre windows. There are a few good 
ways to secure your sliding doors, which you can 
find at a hardware store. These are various sorts 
of locks, depending on your particular door. 
Because most of our neighbors down the street 
who had been burglarized had rear sliding doors 
where the thieves entered, I realized that sliding 
doors are a weak area.

In our home, we installed security doors on the 
outside of our rear sliding doors. We purchased 
them ourselves and installed them so we saved a 
little that way. But because they were essentially 
metal security doors that could not be easily 
breached, we always breathed easier after they 
were in.

Dog doors: Yes, maybe they are a good idea, but 
we know too many people who’ve been robbed 
and the point of entry was the dog door. In one 
case, the previous resident had a dog and the 
new resident never bothered to change it out. 
The ring of thieves had a child crawl in through 
the dog door, and open things up.

Windows are often an area of entry. Depending 
on your window, you can purchase little locks 
that prevent the window from opening beyond 
a certain point. These are cheap and easy to 
install.

Go purchase motion detectors where a light goes 
on if someone (or something) passes by. This 
may not totally repel a thief but it might scare 
him away.

Where a window is exposed to the outside, consider 
planting a thick patch of various cacti or 
other plants that will pierce or poke someone 
who gets too close. These are excellent low-tech 
protectors.

We have a friend who had gravel poured all 
along one side of her house, the area where she 
felt people could gain access. Whenever anyone 
walked on the gravel, you could hear it at night, 
and she figures the noise alone repelled at least 
one thief.

Remember, if you think like a thief, he will not 
want to be seen, so he will not enter the front of 
your house if it is open and exposed. He will 
want to go around back, somewhere, where it is 
hidden. It is in those “hidden” areas where you 
want to focus your efforts.

None of these methods are fool-proof and some 
determined thieves will get around them. But 
you should still do all these, and you should be 
active in a Neighborhood Watch.

Obviously, people who live in more rural and 
agricultural areas tend to have less problems 
with break-ins. Part of this is because everyone 
knows everyone in the country, and everyone 
knows if a stranger is lurking about. Another 
reason that there is less break-ins in rural areas 
is that everyone knows that there are at least a 
few rifles and shotguns on every farm and every 
country home.

These are just a few basic ideas for keeping your 
home safe. I’d like to hear your ideas too.

Pet of the Week

 
When McNugget first arrived at Pasadena Humane, 
he was scared of his own shadow. This little guy would 
hide in the back of his kennel and break our hearts. 

 Thankfully, he has started to show us all the fun-
loving dog he can be. He adores running around in 
the yard, jumping into the pool and then happily 
shaking off all the water on any unsuspecting staff and 
volunteers. 

 McNugget is also an exceptional student. He has 
mastered a few tricks and is eager to learn more. This 
guy just wants to please, but he’s also happy to get a 
treat for a reward. 

 This sweet boy will probably take a little time to get 
comfortable in his forever home, but once he does, 
McNugget will be the BEST! 

 The adoption fee for dogs is $150. All dog adoptions include spay or neuter, microchip, and 
age-appropriate vaccines. 

 New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-wellness exam from VCA Animal 
Hospitals, as well as a goody bag filled with information about how to care for your pet. 

 View photos of adoptable pets and schedule an adoption appointment at pasadenahumane.
org. Adoptions are by appointment only, and new adoption appointments are available every 
Sunday and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. 

 Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone 
calls or email.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com