Is your stuff worth your life?

I was over on Facebook this morning and read a post about a canine hero. The dog, a pit bull, sprang into action after his owner refused to hand over his truck keys to two armed robbers. One of the robbers shot at the guy (a bullet grazed his forehead), and the dog responded by going after the gunmen. One guy ran; the other one got mangled pretty good by the dog. The dog himself was shot several times but is recovering nicely now.

You know, it is great that the dog protected his owner. It's something every dog owner hopes his or her own dog would do, spring into action and become a fur-covered avenger when the chips are down. At the same time, though, I'm thinking, in essence, just how unbelievably stupid does a person have to be to refuse to cooperate with two armed robbers?? Not just one punk with a gun, mind you, but TWO?! Dude, just how tricked out is your ride if you think it's worth more than your life? Trucks can be replaced. It's just stuff. If it's new enough to have comprehensive insurance, you could even end up with a nicer truck in the end -- I've noticed some car insurance companies advertise that they'll pay for a replacement vehicle one model year newer than whatever it is you have now if your vehicle is totaled or stolen. Just what did the guy think was going to happen when he said no, that they'd respond with, "well, okay then, we'll just amble off and steal someone else's car," doff their caps politely, and leave?

For as long as I can remember, the standard advice from law enforcement officers and self defense experts is that when someone with a weapon tries to rob you, cooperate. Just give them what they want and odds are that no one ends up injured or dead. Your life isn't worth your car or your purse or your jewelry.

My big fear, incidentally, when it comes to potential armed robberies, is that in the extremely unlikely event I was ever a victim, I'd end up pistol-whipped or dead because I so rarely have much cash on me and have nothing else worth stealing. Robbers would beat the snot out of me because they were pissed that I'd wasted their time. Then again, when I'm driving a Focus and have the fashion sense of a bag lady, I doubt if I'm much of a target to begin with.