Burglary

[long live kong]

My father did something similar years ago with a Rat trap (exactly like a mousetrap only bigger and nastier) when someone had been prowling in our yard, he rigged it under the gate latch and it must have worked as one morning it had been sprung. We must have slept through any screaming. The following night someone shot our front bay window with an air rifle.

[Scatter]

OOOOoooo..........sorry to hear this my friend. I personally would have no hesitation splattering the brain matter of any intruder on the walls of my home. Once you violate my family's safety by breaking in, you've essentially just committed suicide. I may pull the trigger, but the decision to die was theirs.

[Dr.Teufel Geist]

they came thru the window of the ac unit?...might I suggest, a nail board..like Charles Bronson used in Death Wish 3, I believe.

[ChattyLMS]

OMG Gillfan what a scarey thing to happen.  I hope they get the scumbag that did that.  Do you have enough meds to get you through until you can get another prescription?  I'm really glad that you're alright.  I'm glad they didn't touch your collection.  That was a nice compliment from the policeman!

You might want to get a burglar alarm that has a center that calls the police for you. Take care of your heart now.

[Moonshadow]

So sorry to hear about this, Gillfan. Overall you were lucky, but I know that sense of violation is a hard one to shake. I'll repeat others' recommendations for an alarm if you can afford it. Or if not - maybe see if you can get a window sticker from an alarm company, it might be enough to make those scumbags think twice and go elsewhere.

[BaronLatos35]

Glad to hear you are OK.

[Wolf Man]

First let me say that on the good side you weren't home and did not come face to face with what may have been an armed intruder and second I am thankful nothing too high a value was taken and what could not be replaced. 

I lived for 19 years in a bad urban neighborhood.  I owned an end unit townhouse.  I like it because of the location, the house was nice and I backed up to some woods and a lake. 

In 19 years I only had one attempted break in.  The first night I moved in and I decided to stay that night.  I had no shades or curtains and the intruder was attempting to pry open my rear downstairs window with what appeared to be a phillips head screwdriver ( a genius burgler huh?).  Well, without a sound my chow ran downstairs and never made a sound until she was in the window in the guys face and then let er rip.  Being a black chow he did not see anything except teeth and eyes.  The guy left skid marks.  Ever since that night my dog did not like people of a certain race for some reason. 

When she had puppies I ended up with two male chows outside and two female inside.  Needless to say that for the remaining 19 years I had no burgleries and not even any attempts. 

All four chows died in my arms of old age with the matriarch being the last.  She died on Christmas under our tree with her head next to mine after living for 17 years.  I will never stop missing her. 

Now I have attack kitties but I don't think they have the same impact since they run away even when friends come over. 

Dogs make the best security systems. 

Sorry to hear about your loss and I am just glad you weren't injured.  Good luck. 

[Type3Toys]

Please dont take this the wrong way, but that is a great story. I am sad that you had to experiance a brake in, but you came out of it ok, PLUS the burglar revealed a weak point in you home defense.

[charp13]

I'm also sad to hear you were robbed, but glad you were not at home! We lived in the metro Atlanta area for 18 years, so I know residential burglary is out of control in the city! We now live 30 mins from downtown, so it's not as bad but we live like we still live in the city. We try to be super safe but it seems like it's never enough. A lot of the people around here don't even lock their doors, which sounds crazy to me. My Dad was telling me that we should take digital pictures of all our collectibles and keep it on a memory chip in a safe place, so that if/when we are robbed we can show the insurance co. that we had some hard to replace or valuable items. I really need to get around to doing that    Hope you've shaken it off, it's a weird experience.

[hammerfan]

it is a good idea to have a record of any collectibles, however, unless you have a rider in your insurance  policy outlining the replacement value of the items them good luck.  Riders for collectibles can be expensive but are worth it if you have a truly valuable collection.

[BlackLagoon]

Really sorry to hear about this...something similar happened to me at my old apt. They ran when they figured out I was home.

Good thing they didn't get much and you're safe and healthy.

Hope they catch em.

[Gillfan]

1st, thanks so much for all the kind words.

2nd, no, the medication isn't an issue. I don't take a daily dose, it is for emergency use and a quick call to the doc fixed me up. Funny thing is they didn't take the bottle itself, they just dumped the pills into their pocket. We know they didn't ingest them since a dose of 10 would have killed them.


3rd, I'm fully insured with riders up the wazoo, but I hate the feeling of violation and I would really hate to have to try and replace what I have spent a lifetime collecting.

4th,  Yes, I should have an alarm system. I had one when I lived in NJ but when I moved to NY a few years ago I didn't install a new one. In the process now. Should be done by tonight.

5th, not big on guns but I am (legally) armed.

6th,  dogs are a great security system, but dogs with lasers would be better.

7th, those of you who said thieves often return are 100% correct. The police said the usual move is to steal stuff then come back in 2-3 months after the victim has used the insurance to buy new stuff. That said, the fact that these thieves only took money and drugs but left jewelry and electronics is a good thing. They just want things that can't be traced (cash) and to get high. That said, should they return I am confident the alarm will scare them or the cameras will at least make it easier to catch them.

I dodged a bullet on this one and am seizing the opportunity to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Again, thanks to everyone for the support and kind words.

[Anton Phibes]

That's terrible to hear. This is why so many people have guns, bars on their windows, attack dogs, etc. I cannot tolerate theft.  God knows the government takes enuff of our money by taxing our earnings mkore and more (about 1/2!), but for someone to break in and try to take what you have bought with the money YOU EARNED is despicable. Again---very sorry. Cash can be replaced. Heart meds too. I dare say...even our collections (God forbid): but once a life is gone that's it. I am glad you are safe. Take care,

Phibes

[marsattacks666]

I have been there too! Very sorry that had happened to you.

[Universal Steve]

This is terrible news. I am glad you are alright. It sickens me to hear of such things and I know they happen all the time. It especially makes me mad that they took your medicine. You need that. I am on heart medication since my heart attack and I know how that is. Yeah, it can be replaced with a phone call but you still have to pay for it again. It is a good thing you were not home. It could have been worse. Collections and items can be replace but not your life. But is still sucks (pardon my language but I am mad about this) having to start over again plus that feeling of violation you must have. Get an alarm and keep your chin up. I don't think they will come back. Maybe if you are lucky they might be trying to get high off your heart medications and instead if you have medicines like mine, it will slow their heart down and maybe they won't survive. A terrible thing to wish on someone but once again I apologize. Stealing is wrong and stealing someone medicines is unexcusable. Good luck with everything.  Take care things will turn out fine.