Gads, how awful that you were injured that severely because of a dog owner's irresponsibility! I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California and generally have very few dog incidents. However, the time my sister and I went down to Hollister/San Juan Bautista for a ride it was like every damn dog in the place was gunning for us. I think we must have had about 8 nasty dogs that went for us in the course of 20 measly miles! I love dogs (I've had labrador retrievers forever) but the sad truth is that many people just don't think they need to contain their dogs. And out in rural areas having a mean dog is like some weird badge of honor. I think the air horn idea sounds great but it does mean having to grab for something, find the trigger and blast it off...none of which is easy when some big, mean dog is flying at you like a missile. Even when it's a small, mean dog...those little terrier things can give you a heart attack! All I can ever think of to do is pedal faster and I know that won't always work.