YOU NEED to do THIS NOW!!
 

Hi all,
I haven't posted in a bit, but I did want to post this. I think it's very important and I hope that even one of you will take what I say to heart and act on it.
Last Thursday was my 26th wedding anniversary. Husband and I went out to eat lunch, run a few errands...you know a regular day. We never stay out long, we don't leave Cooper and Carley alone longer than for 4 hours at a time. We came home to find our front door (glass door) propped open and the inner door wide open. I was out of the car before it came to a full stop. Luckily ( and this is the ONLY good part to this story) both Cooper and Carley were there, hiding in the downstairs living room. Yes, we had been robbed. House trashed, stuff taken, but thankfully my babies were unharmed ( I thought). We did find out later the (insert appropriate word here) had shot my Cooper with a BB gun. I know my little guy was just trying to protect his home and that is what he got for his trouble...he will be fine though.

So anyway to get to the reason for my post, and I truly hope you don't just skim through this and feel bad for me and fail to do any of this..YOU REALLY NEED to LISTEN to THIS Part!!
Write down all Credit Card Info, Account #s, Phone #'s and put it in a SAFE PLACE. Having that list in front of you when you need it is imperative! If you do nothing else, do this part!
List and take pictures of all valuables with SERIAL Numbers.
Block all sliding doors and windows with dowel rods or commercial things that are available for this purpose. All window locks are CRAP!
Door locks, even the well made ones, don't help unless you reinforce your door jambs. The best locked door can be kicked out in no time, if only a thin door jamb holds it in place. Reinforce with metal plates.
When gone have a tv or radio playing in a room that can't be seen from your front windows (if you leave your drapes open). Give those creeps at least a reason to think someone COULD be home. Apparently, these guys like to drop someone off, ring the doorbell..if someone answers they make up some dumb excuse, if not, they go to an unseen spot to break in. They line up everything, call for the ride to come back and are gone in minutes.
Doing any of these things won't guarantee you won't be a victim, but it could lessen your chances and if it does happen, you are prepared.
Other tips...
Leave a car parked in the driveway when you are gone (ours were all safe in the garage)
Install security cameras.
Get an alarm system ( a small one that calls your cell phone can be had for as little as $150.00)
Get a driveway alert gadget. When you are home, it lets you know someone pulled into your driveway and are visible to thief's.
Put in lights that come on automatically when the sensor is tripped. Put them where at least one light will shine INTO the house that alerts you they have been tripped. If they just shine out into the yard, you may not be aware they have gone off.
Get a home safe that bolts to concrete. Keep your valuables and paperwork in it. It's a pain, but so is calling the police, calling the insurance company and calling credit card companies and having your identity stolen. You can get a small one for about $100.00.

Again, please don't just read this and think you need to do this. DO IT!! Make it a priority!

Wow! Thank you for the information!
I am so sorry this had to happen to you, my heart broke when I heard that they shot cooper with a bee bee gun! Is he alright!
I can't imagine the stress that you are going through right now, being robbed is such a violating feeling. I hope that they catch them. big hug to you and your fur babies:)

I can imagine how violated you must feel not to mention the fury you
feel that an innocent dog was harmed. I truly believe there are more scum
walking today then ever before.
I was robbed about 15yrs ago. I had a house alarm sign on the tree in the front and on the front and back doors and a dog in the kitchen. Not Buddy.
They still robbed the house and stole every piece of jewerly I owned!
Sorry to say if they want it they will take it but you are right you have
to try and protect yourself as much as you can. I did, signs were false,
how did they know that? I did have an alarm put in after the fact.
I am glad you were not hurt and your baby will be ok.
The thought of how scared those two furbabies were is sad. It's wonderful
they didn't really harm them. As bad as it was it still could have been worse I guess.
Sorry this happened to you.

I totally agree with your post. We put in an alarm 9 years ago along with cameras and never regretted it. We also have taken pictures of everything in our house and it is all on CD's. My husband has installed security lights all around the house and they are on timers. I know some of our family make jokes about us being Ft Knox, but we still are glad that we have taken these measures. This is a very good post.

OMG...poor baby! I'm glad he's ok. You are so lucky that they didn't get spooked and run out the door. I have an alarm but that may not stop someone from kicking in my door and preventing Max from running out. Hmmm..

Yes, Cooper is okay. Both are a little traumatized, I can tell because when my husband comes home, they used to run downstairs to joyfully greet him, now they just peek around the corner until they know it's him. It breaks my heart each and every time I see them to do this.:(
Cooper had minor surgery to remove the BB and is on antibiotics and he got pain killers too. But stud-muffin that he is, he doesn't seem to need those after the 1st night:p
I am just so truly thankful they didn't run out that open door, or were taken or hurt worse. Really, that is the only part that matters to me...the other part is just STUFF (but it was MY stuff and those *sses shouldn't have taken it) The only things taken that aren't replaceable were my original wedding rings and some of my husband's special guns. Again, I just feel extremely lucky to have my babies alive and well!

Oh my, I am so sorry this has happened to you! Poor little Cooper, I am glad he will be ok. Hopefully, time will heal their insecurity wounds. Poor things.

Thanks also for the great tips. Things I never thought of. I am going to print this out for reference.

This is horrible, and I am so sorry you have to go thru it. Your sense of security will be shaken forever from this. Your reminders are appreciated, and hopefully will help someone else from having this happen to them.

Hugs to you all, especially Cooper and Carley, who we wish could talk.

Thank you so much for sharing this info with us. My best friend's family was robbed a few days before Christmas. it's a disgusting thing. You must feel so violated. Thank you for taking this opportunity and using it as an educational experience for everyone else. I sincerely pray that you get justice for this.

How awful! Hope your little furbutts recover soon, poor babies. And you're right about everything else. I hope they get caught and you can get your stuff back! Thank God they weren't still inside when you got home!

As awful as all that is, I'm so glad your babies were okay (minus being shot by a BB). The most mindblowing part is why they would shoot the dog in the first place? Were they scared of a 6 pound ball of fur that barks?? So sorry you are going through all this, and thanks for the advice. Hubby and I are currently looking into alarm systems.

I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you. Some days I wonder what kind of world we live in. Why can't we all live peacefully with each other.
I'm so glad your babies came out ok. I'm sure it could have been a lot worse. Give them them lots of hugs and kisses and hopefully the memory will ease in time for them ...and yourself.

OMG, I hope Cooper is ok & Carley too.
You are doing a great service with an awful situation by starting this thread. Thank you so much.

Here's a quick tip: I worked at a bank in a small rural town for 15 years. I encouraged my customers to, once a year usually around their birthday, come over to the copy machine and open their wallets and copy all of their cards (including drivers license) & info that was important for them to have and put one copy in their lock box and take the other home. It came in handy for us when our daughter (in High School) had her purse stolen & lost everything in it.

Oh Delaina,
I'm so sorry that this happened. But I am so grateful that Cooper and Carley are fine. Poor Cooper, he is a trooper, isn't he!

Thanks for all the great information - I know we need to do ALL OF IT! We have some of it in place, but not all.

Thanks again for trying to help others avoid this terrible intrusion.

Everything you had to say was very important! Thank you for the reminders.

I am VERY thankful that your babies are okay now. I'm so sorry about Cooper, but glad he's better now.

We were also burglarized several years ago before we had the yorkies. It will throw you. I think the thing that freaked me out the most was that the creeps went through my underwear and spread them all over the house. The police wouldn't let me pick up any of the bras or undies until they had taken photos, so I was just watching and blushing the whole time. Insurance didn't pay to replace those items either (rightfully so), but I just had to throw them out.

Did they take your phones? That's one thing we didn't jump on fast enough. All of our phones were gone (even the old, cheap ones) and we didn't think until several days later that it could have been to hide their number from caller ID. Sometimes they call first. By the time we thought to check with the phone company, those caller ID records were gone. So check!

Big hugs! I'm so sorry! :(

Thanks for the valuable information. Even small rural town, such as I live in, have their share of problems with burglaries. Will mention some of your suggestions to my dh. Thanks. ~Joanne~

so sorry that you had this happen. So very glad that your babies are okay and that Cooper is on the mends. Thank you for all the valuable in formation, I will certainly talk with hubby about many of them. Hugs to you.

:( I am so sorry this happened to you and your family, it must be so scary.
Thank you for posting some valuable info, I certainly will be following it.
Sending Hugs & Good Thoughts.

Thank god your babies were ok.. im so sorry this happened to you.
Right this minute i am going to take your advice and copy everything in
my wallet and stick it in my safe thats bolted to the ground..
thank you so much..

That is GREAT information, thank you! I am so sorry about Cooper. How mean can anyone be to shoot a little Yorkie with a BB gun. My neighbor shot my cat with a air canister gun a few years back and he still has the bullet in him. The Vet said it would be better than removing it. But it did shatter his pelvis and he had a long recovery.

I'm glad Cooper is doing better. I'm sorry you were robbed. :(

OMG !!!! you were robbed & Someone SHOT THE COOP with a BB GUN ? Those B**tards ! :mad: Oh girl - I am so so sorry !

That's horrible and I felt so bad reading this.....I know you must be so on edge and the poor doggies - I hate that they got so traumatized but worse .... poor Cooper. Why the heck would someone do that ! Do the police have any hope of catching these jerks ?

I'm so glad you are all ok -and sending smoochies for the brave little man. I really hope he recovers and both are going to be ok emotionally - you too...

SENDING HUGS !!! If you need anything please write ok ?

ps - this happened to my oldest son too but no one hurt his dogs :(

Thanks so much for the post! Poor Cooper. I am so glad he will make a full recovery.

Not long after we got Maddie, almost 3 years ago, several homes in our area were broken into within a week or two. We had an alarm installed. One of the homes belonged to a close friend of mine. Months later, she was discovering things missing.
I am so sorry you have to experience this. I know how hard it was on her family. I remember she explained it as if someone had violated her family in a way that felt impossible to recover from. To know a stranger had invaded your privacy in such a way. Both her children would want to take a backpack of their belongings whenever they would leave in case 'those people' came back.:(

Again, I am glad to hear your boy will be okay and prayers your family will heal from this.

What is wrong with the world? I am just so glad that your babies were not taken. You must have been in terror seeing that door kicked in. :(
I certainly hope that they find out who did this. Give the babies hugs
from us.

What a traumatic event! You were lucky--things could have ended so much worse than they did!

Living in Tucson, we have more than our share of crime--it might be due to our proximity to the border, but I am not sure about that. We moved here from Maine where you could leave your door unlocked, so coming here and dealing with the crime was a bit of a shock.

We have an alarm system now, and we use it whenever we leave the house--even for a few minutes. It has given me peace of mind. I know that the police will be notified immediately if something trips it off. We keep the girls (Edie, our Yorkie, and Breezy, our Westie) in a part of the house where the motion detectors cannot "see" them--we use a baby gate. But if anyone breaks a door or window, the alarm will go off. If they are somehow able to get inside, the motion detector would set off the alarm.

The dogs will set off the alarm by playing and chasing each other if they are allowed to run free through the house....I know because it has happened! :p