When I moved to California literally everyone subscribed to a security service but a policeman told me I'd be better off with a dog. He said dogs work better as a deterrent than alarm systems (because no one pays attention to alarms —which I have observed: they go off sometimes for hours with nothing happening). I had a dog at that time that loved every human good or bad but she had a very imposing presence (an Akita) that worked very well —I never had a break in though neighbors around me with their systems did. The dog recently passed away and I've acquired an another.
The thought arose: If you can include the cost of a security system as a housing expense for the housing exclusion, can you count a dog as your security system? Anyone know?
