Restrict guns, get a dog

The school shooting in Perry, Iowa, was tragic, and all our legislators in Iowa can do is offer thoughts and prayers. Which is understandable and nice, but we need to figure out how to avoid this scourge on the United States.

The gun lobby controls one of our political parties that refuses to take any positive steps toward legislating or restricting gun sales. Even something as simple as restricting the sale of guns designed to kill people, like the AR15 and high-capacity magazines.

Granted there are many responsible gun owners, but the need for a weapon that can pulverize an organ or remove a whole part of the body can’t be considered a legitimate choice for hunting.

Many of these guns were bought legally but were somehow involved in the deaths of many people, including school children. While an AR-15 wasn’t involved in this shooting, gun locks make sense if you have pistols or shot guns in your home.

Since our legislators are at an impasse, we need to figure out what to do ourselves. Enter man’s best friend! The guard dog!

Not only are they our cuddly family pets, they offer something we may not have taken seriously as a protector. This isn’t a new idea, but it is an idea worth considering.

[Dogs] can be trained to sniff out guns and explosives and actually get ahead of trouble, plus intimidate the potential shooter just by their presence.

One of the best choices is the Doberman pinscher. The Doberman looks intimidating in the first place and most people would fear going up against one of these fierce agile canines.

They are highly intelligent with courage not known to any mortal. Not to mention there is no hesitation, they are faster than one could imagine.

Unlike the officials at the grade school in Uvalde, Texas. There won’t be any wasted time talking the situation to death while the crime is being committed.

Another good choice is the Belgian Malinois that is used by many K-9 units across the country. Not only are they smart and highly trainable, but they will also alert their handlers to threatening situations and keep the shooter at bay.

A trained dog can cost anywhere from $45,000 to $65,000. There are two nonprofit training schools in Texas where the cost is much lower at $10-15,000.

Expenses for the dog would range from $750 to $2,000 on the high end per year. That includes food and veterinary care.

School boards are afraid of the liability these dogs can bring if they bite someone. This is backward thinking. They need to consider the liability of getting a student killed or injured. These dogs are trained to only bite a suspect.

So where do we get the money for these dogs? Republicans passed legislation for kids to transfer from public schools to private schools at a potential cost of $221 million. If we can afford to pull that much money from taxpayers and public schools, let’s protect all of our kids as a trade-off.

John Lehnst,

Williamsburg, Iowa