Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is totally a nice guy who we definitely don't want to insult, at all, carries a .380 Ruger with him when he jogs, because he is afraid of snakes. On Tuesday, he killed a coyote.

It is totally insane to carry a handgun with hollow-point bullets while jogging, right? Unless you need to dispatch a coyote.

Perry (R) told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he needed just one shot from the laser-sighted pistol he sometimes carries while jogging to take down a coyote that menaced his puppy during a February run near Austin. Perry said he carries his .380 Ruger — loaded with hollow-point bullets — when jogging on trails because he is afraid of snakes. But when a coyote came out of the brush toward his daughter's Labrador retriever, Perry charged.

Thank god for the right to bear arms! Perry even had a fun action movie-style catchphrase:

"Don't attack my dog, or you might get shot . . . if you're a coyote," he said Tuesday.

I have been to Texas and I am still not convinced it is a real place.

[AP, via WaPo; pic va Getty]