Oh, I got so caught up in your story that I completely forgot that you asked for advice.
My advice to you is: purchase Kevlar vests for your pipes, you never know when Rex might visit again.
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)