A couple of years ago, three 'coons jumped my dog, Dawg and were in the process of giving him the bad part. I picked up a T Ball bat left in the yard by the kids and went to his defense. I broke one's back, ending his day, dispatched the second in search of better hunting, Dawg took out the third.
A T Ball bat works well at close range, with a proper state of mind
. Of course, I was dressed for the occasion 
and really lucky. I was in deck shoes, bathing suit and t-shirt. I did blind them with one of those million candle power boat spots. Dawg had some pretty bad scratches, but healed up fine.