Let's Not Meet~ Reddit Horror Stories

Everyone Should Have A Large Dog

The year was 1995 and I was 16 years old. I lived in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in a middle-class suburban community with my mother, two younger brothers, and our 140 pound doberman, Turbo. From the front door of our house (relevant), you could see directly into our living room which had an open concept floorplan with the kitchen and dining room. Our couch was on the wall directly in front of the front door.

It was the summer between my sophomore and junior years in high school. My brothers and I spent a decent amount of time outdoors because this was back when people still did that. I suppose anyone paying attention knew who lived in our house. And I suppose they knew that the only adult was gone when the only car was gone. However, prior to the man showing up at the house, I'd never noticed anything off, and I never noticed anything afterwards, so maybe we were just a random target.

It was a Saturday and Mom and the boys had run to the grocery store. In Nevada in the 90s, almost no one had air condoning, so to cool off, you would open all the windows and doors and use fans. On this particular day, I had the back sliding door and front door wide open to get a cross breeze. Neither screen door was locked. I was napping on the couch in full view of the front door in shorts and a tank top. With unlocked doors. It's good we gain intelligence with age. In my defense, there was 140 pounds of protective dog muscle on the floor next to me, and probably only for that reason am I alive.

Around the approximate time I expected my family home from the store, Turbo began barking. Assuming he was barking their arrival, I told him to shush and tried to go back to sleep. Turbo, God bless his sweet protective soul, continued to bark, becoming more and more intense and even aggressive with his barking. Finally, after 5-10 minutes or Turbo refusing to quiet and my family never coming in from the car, I sat up, realizing something was wrong. A man who I didn't know stood, seemingly frozen, staring at my frenzied and barking Doberman.

Assuming that the man had some appropriate business at my home, I hurried the 10 steps to the UNLOCKED screen door, constantly shushing Turbo. I apologized for my dog and for not hearing his knock (he never knocked). The man explained that he was from the phone company and he was here to check our lines. He never took his eyes off Turbo. Turbo never stopped snarling.

I leaned forward far enough to see the street. Only unmarked, privately owned cars lined the streets. I looked at the man who was dressed in tennis shoes, jeans, and a t-shirt. I was 16 and dumb enough to nap in front of an unlocked door, but I was no fool. Phone company personnel a) always wear uniforms, b) always drive company vehicles, c) don't come without being called, and d) don't work weekends!

I looked at the man, who had yet to look up from the 140 pound dog that was now foaming at the mouth. I grasped the screen door handle and held it. This got his attention. He met my eyes as I said, "You have 30 seconds to show me identification, or I open this door." I don't even think he made an incoherent excuse as he ran away.

I fell to my knees and hugged Turbo; I then gave him all the meat in the fridge. I believe with absolute certainty that I would have been attacked if we hadn't had him. I like to think that if I hadn't had a huge, overly - protective dog I would have been in the habit of locking doors, but what would a screen door latch do against an intruder? And, that creep stood there and watched me for 5-10 minutes. Perhaps he was paralyzed in fear. But, maybe he was working his angles and only Turbo's insistent display of his willingness to kill anyone who threatened me changed his mind. That's my theory.

Turbo has long passed, but his legacy lives on. And two loving, loyal, and lethal (when necessary) dogs sleep in my room every night.