Lock your doors and windows

Got home today, and noticed the screen was halfway removed. Aluminum frame window with one of those things with a couple of wing bolts that clamp to frame and secure it. 

I go inside and tell the wife someone tried to break in today, she doesn't believe it. She comes out, looks it over, and says someone rang the doorbell about 10:00, She does not generally answer the door during the day, unless someone calls or she is expecting visitors. The dogs were both outside playing in the back yard. They were barking up a storm at the time the doorbell rings. They settled down and she did not give it another thought until I got home. Day before yesterday she was telling me about home invasion type robberies in the area, yet she is surprised, because that was at some apartments, not a house. I suppose they would not have gotten as far as they did with the screen if the dogs were inside at the time. Couple of hundred pounds of dogs would cure me of wanting to open that window. I am a non-crackhead though, perhaps a different thought process than the miscreants in question. I left them a note in window, in case they come back.

Glad she did not have to defend herself

In reply to Toebra :

Wow, good thing the dogs take their job seriously. Make me glad I’m pretty much always home & up random hours throughout the night. 

Glad she was ok! Be aware that they may come back. Something might have spooked them this time, but they likely target specific houses. Be sure to file a report for the attempt. 

EastCoastMojo said:

Glad she was ok! Be aware that they may come back. Something might have spooked them this time, but they likely target specific houses. Be sure to file a report for the attempt. 

Absolutely take this seriously. it's common for the same residence or business to be hit repeatedly.

Also, call the police. While a police report may or may not be appropriate at this point, they should appreciate you letting them know that you were targeted. Ask if it's possible to get worked in to the routine patrol route.

Cameras? Lucky you have dogs!

Scary stuff. Maybe invest in a security system to help everyone sleep well? Definitely report to police & neighbors. Best of luck.

My wife laughs that I am so concerned about locking the doors because we are in such a safe neighborhood and have a big pitbull, but people on drugs are everywhere and they do not think rationally.  We had some neighborhood kids steal from cars in driveways and of course, it was the one night I didn't lock the car.  Nothing but small change, but each car has a garage-door opener, so that's an issue.  

I have taught my wife that anytime something strange like that happens to rack one in the Mossberg and scream out "i have pms and a shotgun". We figure that anyone dumb enough to keep coming after that deserves to have his oxygen liscence revoked.

But ours are always locked. Always. And i keep some very strange hours, and have very nosy neighbors on the corner, who happento be the parents of the sheriff. 

Dusterbd13 said:

 rack one in the Mossberg and scream out "i have pms and a shotgun". 

I'm going to have to use that line one day. 

I'm with Duster except we leave one in the chamber of all of ours, racking one also gives away your position.  We have "stash guns" placed in 3 places around the house so we are never far from a force multiplier. We have been broken into twice.

In reply to Justjim75 :

Ditto, only noise will be clicking the safety off, the 870 is chambered. 

We have woken up to a tweaker in the back yard with a flash light rummaging around, 3 shootings in the neighborhood in the 5 years we've been here, and while my nextdoor neighbor generally seems to be a good guy (watches over things for me when I'm gone, returns borrowed tools, I've fixed his mower a few times, etc.) I'm 95% sure my he's a drug dealer.  I'm less concerned about the neighbor himself than I am his customers that are stopping by for 5-10 minutes at a time at all hours of the day.

Reading that back you'd think I lived in some big city, not podunk suburbia Arkansas.  We're SOOOO ready to move.

SWMBO rolls her eyes when I talk about building a bunker in the side of a hill, but I'm only slightly joking.  People suck!

Stay diligent, and as Larry Potterfield says, "aim straight."

I have an irrational fear about this lately. Despite living in overly safe neighborhood compared to others in the city, I think the only way it would be safer is if we were a gated community with a full-time security guard. 

Doors are always locked, I even lock the back door when I let the dogs out, even though one is a 55lb pit mix with a TERRIFYING bark and snarl. Cars ALWAYS go in the garage, and even in the garage I lock the doors. I'd really like to do some of those door reinforcements that make them much harder to kick in as well.

We have a neighborhood watch that includes some of the retired folks out driving around the neighborhood at all hours of the day, live next to a school and a fire station, so police are always around, etc. 

We live rural, neighbors are a half mile away. We generally try and watch out for each other when we can but we had a string of robberies during the Amazon warehouse lunch break hours a year or two back in the area. They caught the crew of 3. they were hopping into their car on their lunch break at amazon and breaking into houses in the area knowing that people were at work. Duechenozzles. 

 With an 80lb german shephard barking, if you still come into my house there's not going to be warning. Police response is in the 10 minute range so they'll file a nice report when it's done. 

There is a bell you can hear from outer space that rings if you open anything and the alarm is monitored

She is a country girl from Texas, the dogs would be saving them from her. 

Probably shouldn't give this away, but I have not locked my door in 10 years. My car keys are always in my truck, although I doubt anybody would want you to steal it. Maybe time to rethink

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

I have similar issues, Lee.  3 meth labs near me, one up the hill, one down the hill and one caddy-corner across the street.  Up the hill is probably not active at the moment, but has been historically.  Worst one is the across the street.  It's not them, it's their customers you worry about.  Like the time I was blocked in the street by one as I came home.  He tried to get me to come out of the Esprit (RIP).  Backed off when he saw Mr. Helwan.  But, they tend to not want to come down the driveway, so I only see the new customers when they are lost.

Had some young man try to break into the house on the corner of my property.  I caught it all on video.  Saved it to a CD and gave it to the sheriff.  Haven't seen his truck since, and that's the kind of thing I look for.  Arkansas is only so big and there's only so many black late model GMC trucks with a distinctive front plate.  I mean, the camera is huge and facing right at him as he walks up.  High def, too.

You just need someone like these guys keeping an eye out for you

pinchvalve said:

My wife laughs that I am so concerned about locking the doors because we are in such a safe neighborhood and have a big pitbull, but people on drugs are everywhere and they do not think rationally.  We had some neighborhood kids steal from cars in driveways and of course, it was the one night I didn't lock the car.  Nothing but small change, but each car has a garage-door opener, so that's an issue.  

We've had neighborhood kids through our car once too.

They left the $2-5 of change in the console but took the phone charger. Rifled through everything and made a huge mess, so we are pretty sure they found the change. How much can a phone charger possibly be worth on the used market? I'm thinking it must be some kind of prank or dare, but still. I'd rather you take the change and buy yourself a few pops than me have to buy another car charger!!!

Best home defense is a dog with a strong bark.  Druggies are usually looking for a quick smash and grab, so they can pawn something to feed their addiction.   They generally pass if they hear a dog, or other people around.  

Reminds me.....I need another dog!  

Glad your dogs did their job

Turns out I had it a little twisted.  

Dogs start to make a lot of noise in the back yard, at the gate on the front door side.  A lot is maybe selling them short on the noise deal, probably closer to the astonishing end of the scale. I will have to take a look and see if they could see the window from the fence, camellia bushes might block it.  I think the tall one could clear the fence at pretty much any spot along the perimeter, if he was feeling motivated.  He sounds like he weighs 160, a mere slip of a thing at 130.

The doorbell rings.  She lets the dogs in, so they won't disturb the neighbors.  They charge to the front of the house, with the volume turned up to 11. Promptly quit barking, and she goes back to whatever she has snared in her DVR net to watch, probably something about ghosts or true crime.  Brown one comes back and lays at her feet, other one stays by the front door, the end.

Home security is no joke. I live at the end of a culdesac in a quiet town with a hyperactive game warden living 5 houses up from me nearer the entrance to the street. My next door neighbor is a former marine and I don't mess around when it comes to training and firearms. Also picked up TFT and taught it to my girls, because you never know. My Sweet pupper passed away in April from old age and I just picked up a pit bull pup to raise into the family about a month and a half ago. I really do think everything is going to be ok, I just like to stack the deck in my favor as much as I can. My thought is that 99% of people are good, but the 1% that are not good are REALLY NOT GOOD and I must try and prepare for as much as I can... 

No one wants to mess with a cat that steals the bed from a 112lb Lab mix! 

Appleseed said:

Bwahaha when I saw the thread title, first thing I thought of was "Hide your kids, hide your wife..."