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Puppies and Sly Dogs

I seriously thought about writing a blog post about my new dog. Because, hey, that’s a huge deal. A puppy is like a toddler. And a toddler, to any family, can be stressful.

But I hadn’t figured out yet if there was a literary angle to this potential puppy post; like if having a dog made me write better, faster or worse, or not at all since I spend more time training, feeding and playing with her than anything else. But I didn’t get to think that far ahead. The blog post wasn’t to be about my dog. Sorry puppy.

It was to be about the break-in at my house. Yes, it was the real deal. The thief entered our (locked) home, rifled through our things just hoping for something good. Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for him, we didn’t have anything valuable in the house, other than the kids, and they were both at school.

I’m sure he thought he would get in and out scot-free. After all, he had thievery down to a science since he’d just tried the same trick down our street minutes before. He parked his car in our driveway and that was key to breaking in (excuse the pun). If people see a car in the driveway, they think we know the person. Very sly.

He had to be on his way out when we arrived because when my husband confronted him -- after noticing not only the car but also two of our house doors wide open -- the burglar politely told my husband, “Sorry Sir, I didn’t take anything. I’m just going to leave.”

Yeah, um, when someone breaks into your house, and he calls you sir, it doesn’t change the fact that you want the idiot to be responsible for his actions! This is when my husband grabbed him and they wrestled all the way outside. The punk jumped our fences, grabbed his own wallet from his car (don’t know how he had time to think of that) and ran.

I got to make the wonderful 911 call. I’ve never called them before in my life. That was all for 48 Hours Mystery, or someone else. But I did it, and it was rather frantic. Afterall, I was watching my husband try to keep the dude from bolting, give a physical description, remain calm and talk rationally. Not easy.

The bad guy got away. But not for long. We positively identified him. Would you be shocked to know he was on parole for burglary? Yeah, mind numbing. The police are picking up the dummy as I write. On a good note: it was cool to see CSI at our house. Of course, it was nothing like the fake show. But still, very cool. All the police and sheriff were awesome too.

Lesson: Keep the puppy out of her kennel when we’re gone, even if it means she’ll tear apart her bed, rip up the doormat and euphorically pick apart my houseplant, leaf by leaf. My dog barks. That’s a good thing. Had she been out of her kennel, the perpetrator would’ve never come in.

Was it terrifying? Yes. Are we better prepared in keeping safe in the future? Yes. And for me, I already know everything works together for good. Even the bad stuff. Angels were watching over us. And most importantly, the thief didn’t carry a weapon. Had he? Well, this blog post wouldn’t even be happening. Oh, and if anything else good came from it, it’s fodder -- heck, nothing beats real life experiences-- for a great story.

Comments

  1. Great dog story, Heather! This is indeed about your dog. He would have been the hero if he had been given the chance. And instead of cleaning up after the thief rifling through your stuff (yucky violation), you'd be cleaning up the plant parts and buying a new dog bed and doormat. :^)

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  2. Yes, so true. I guess the dog is still the focus of the post. :)
    Thanks Chris!

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  3. Hi..the dog looks cute. But its too bad about the break -in. Wish the dog had a chance to bite the burglar.
    Have a nice weekend.

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  4. What a strange burglary experience! But GREAT that you caught the guy. (And thank heavens he wasn't carrying any weapons!) We got A dog six years ago, shortly after WE were robbed. A girl broke into our house, stole our safe, a painting and my shoes. I was home at the time. I was sick and in my room (in the basement) and vaguely heard someone come in. At first I thought it was my mom and after she'd been here for about ten minutes I called to her because I wanted her to come downstairs. The door opened and closed again. I figured my mom just stopped by to pick something up on her lunchbreak (she did that sometimes). We hadn't even realized we'd been robbed at first. I mean, my mom was like... did one of you take my painting to school (the thief took it out of the frame!) and she wouldn't believe us when we said we didn't. I noticed the next day my shoes were missing. We didn't really understand what happened. The following day... the cops called us and told us our passports were spread across the street with a safe 40 minutes away from where we live. That's when we realized what had happened. ANd I remembered about my mom or sister coming home and we realized that it had been a burglar. Luckily, it was an unarmed girl I scared off by calling upstairs.... It was still freaky though!!!

    Sorry for rambling!

    Dogs are great! Yours is super cute. I just found your blog! Nice to meet you!

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  5. What a story Melissa. Thanks for sharing. Cannot believe what some people will do for a quick buck.
    Nice to "meet" you too!
    -H

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  6. Oh no, scary experience! Yay to us unpublished writers who don't have the $$ to buy nice stuff!!
    erica

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  7. This is a good stgory, but a frightening one, too. You are right about if he had been carrying a weapon. Glad you were able to happen upon him, get a description, and help the police in apprehending him. wb

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  8. Oh that is scary. So glad no-one was home!! Glad you have a dog now, they're definitely a deterrent. I agree on them being like toddlers at first, its tough but they do train themselves in the end. ;)

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