[Templar]

Guns don't get you into trouble unless you're an idiot.

It's always a good idea to keep one at home if you're not feeling safe (or even on your person if you can get a CCP). If the jerkoffs are ballsy enough, they'll try to do it while you're home so they can intimidate you into telling them where the good stuff (jewelry and small electronics) are... Don't underestimate people, let them underestimate you and take some time and money to train yourself how to react in the event you need to defend yourself (or your family).

I agree with E90SoFlo too, the area you live in sounds pretty bad. I'm sorry about your dog, if someone killed mine (purposefully) I would hunt them down and things would be pretty ugly...