trail safety: cats, etc

[SL S <stepnout@swva.net>]

Garrett:  sounds like it's time to start running with weapons, and maybe
with your horse.  Hate to say it but we've got cougars here in the Blue
Ridge, though not very many.  They have been seen and heard, and the local
grapevine says the gov't has purposely released breeding pairs in the
mountains south of my farm.  I'm considering conditioning myself to carry a
.357 magnum...heck, I'm slooooow anyhow, so a few more pounds won't change
much.  Anyone have other suggestions for appropriate "portable" armaments?
How about chemical sprays (ones that will actually hit a target at 10 feet
or more)?  

As for a dog, I believe I'd just opt for at least three, and make them
educated Plott hounds or Rhodesian Ridgebacks.  They can occupy the cat til
you get off a shot...and yep, I'll shoot anything that tries to make lunch
out of me, even if it's the last cat on earth.  

Sally in Floyd, VA