Extremely angry!

I understand this so well, we live on a very urban street with a shared drive to the house next door. Well one Sunday night back in October our neighbor starting knocking on the door just as I was going to let Babe out for her last potty break of the night. Mind you it was 10pm, well he had just chased to young men out of our car, I usually lock everything up after I let her out.
 
We all went running around to the back and sure enough the car doors were open, they got my camera. If I had taken Babe out 5 min earlier she would have run right into them, I let her out unleashed. I was mad about the camera but glad that I did not have to face the fact that she could have been hurt going after them. For I know if they had run, she would have chased.
 
I now lock the car as soon as I get out of it, we leave the back light on 24/7 and even thought of putting up light sensors. We have lived here almost 5 years and this is the first time this has happened. And yes it does make you scared and mad and insecure.
 
Babe was usually very good at hearing things in the drive which runs along our side of the house, but her hearing was going or gone, she was also very good and being very quiet and sneaking up on people, it was scary sometimes, she would watch someone walking along the property and make no sound until they were almost right on top of her then she would use that raw meat bark and scare the living daylights out of them.  Kord is also showing signs of being very territorial. He watches everyone that walks down the street until they are gone. And if he hears or see's someone, he does bark at some but he mostly just watches them. And it is not just our house, it was so nice the other night that I took him with me to sit on the neighbors porch while we chatted, and sure enough a group of 4 started walking down the street across from us, he sat up, moved to the end of the porch and watched them the whole time. My neighbor was impressed. For most trespassers a large barking dog is a good deterent.
 
I hope they catch whoever did this for you, and I hope your sense of security eases as time goes by.

Dawn

We had something similar happen a few months ago here. This is a VERY small town, VERY low crime, we go off on walks all the time and leave the garage door open and don't think twice about it. One morning people in many different homes found that cars had items removed (most were unlocked) ranging from umbrellas and tote bags to a couple of guns. Many of the houses had dogs, but nobody heard anything. They haven't caught them yet, so they're thinking it was people driving by on the highway that passes by us, but it really brought home to all of us here that no place is insulated.

It's such a feeling of violation, isn't it? Sorry this happened.  I work for our PD and, if it makes you feel any better, the neighborhood doesn't matter, rich, poor, they're all just about equally hit.  

I feel for you.  I don't think you need to worry too much. IF anyone was stupid enough to  break into your home after hearing them bark, they deserve to be bitten, HARD, where it counts!  
 
Shortly after we moved into our new home, we were robbed.  The police officer told us to go to the pound and adopt 2 big dogs, didn't matter what breed, as long as they were big and barked.  He said they are the BEST deterrents against thieves.

Doesn't it suck? I've gotta go back to court on the 18th and 30th this month because my car was broken into in September. I already went to a pre trial for the one guy, and he plead not guilty (after coming in to the police station and confessing) so on the 30th, I have to stay within an hour of the courthouse in case I get a call, so that means I can't go to my class and practicum that day. Hopefully I don't have to make that up, because I don't know when I will. The 18th is a pre trial for the girl, since she hired a real lawyer. I hope she'll plead guilty rather than wasting my time. Since the guy didn't though, i'm going to make it torture for him like he is for me. I'm taking full advantage of my rights. Since I left my credit cards in the car in my wallet, they're charged with identify theft and forgery, and I believe they're (at least he is I know) potentially facing jail time. If he does go, I asked to be informed if he goes up for parole or any of that stuff so that I can testify and all that good stuff. I wanted to get this over and done with, but since he is wasting my time, i'll be sure to waste his as well. 

I know how you feel.  At 6:30am I go to take my mother to work and found my '97 Jeep Laredo broken into [:@].  They didn't take anything because luckily I didn't leave anything of value in the car.  I always forget my cell phone and Ipod. 
 
They rummaged though the glove compartment that was all.  First time my car has been broken into in the 13 yrs that I have lived here.
 
Now I have to go find out how much $$$ it'll cost me to get a new polarized window.

I live in a pretty nice neighborhood...mostly upper middle class families, cheapest home probably costing around $200,000.

I'm wondering what this has got to do with anything???

If i were a thief i wouldnt be going to the poor neighbourhoods,i'de be going to the rich suburbs.

The funny thing is that his truck is like a 1995 or something...my roomates have a 2002 pathfinder and a 2003 jetta, and i have a nice truck with a VERY nice CD player in it

Once again,alot of detail.... But my theory is that older cars are easier to break into than the new ones.
My OH's 1983 car got broken into when it was parked in between 2 very new expensive cars,which also most likely had alarms fitted.It's jsut that his was easier to break into and didnt have an alarm.

Actually in our neck of the woods robbery/burglary is much higher in "poor neighborhoods".
 
There is more booty (like irate not J-Lo) in the richy district but also more police with less to do and a lot more alarm systems aside from a barking dog....and lots of nosey, nosey neighbors!

I live in a pretty nice neighborhood...mostly upper middle class families, cheapest home probably costing around $200,000.

I'm wondering what this has got to do with anything???


That it's not like there are lots of hood rats running around. It's not even in a high crime area of town. I also think that it's weird that there was a thief wondering around in my neighborhood. And yes, his truck was probably easier to break into because it obviously doesn't have an alarm, but neither does mine. I was just stating that i think it's funny his vehicle was targeted, especially the fact that there were several other vehicles, older ones, parked on the street next to his.

Last year my friends son, which is a State Policeman was transferred back to this area of our state and while he and his family were looking for a house they stayed with his mom & dad (my friends). Their son was allowed to drive his cop car home at night and even with this out in they're driveway the cop car was broken into and they stole the shotgun and a can of gasoline and then stole my friends brand new Explorer and drove it all around purposely running into parked vehicles and mailboxes until it was so tore up that they pulled it into a school field and shot it all up with the stolen shotgun and then set it on fire with the stolen can of gas. Needless to say, it was totally gone, you couldn't hardly tell what it was, the fire was so hot.
   They did end up catching the 2 creeps (being nice, I have other names I'd like to call them) and they only ended up with probabtion. Blew everyone's minds!

My DS #1 just had a really bad and scary experience, too.  Back in October he managed to buy a little house in a nice, quiet, older neighborhood in Sacramento.  About 4 days before Christmas he had an electrical emergency that resulted in igniting and killing his laptop.  So off we went to Best Buy and I sprung for a new one for him.  Yesterday, he came to our  house about 11:00 a.m. and he drove  home around 2:30 p.m. .... to find that someone had driven up into his driveway, opened the gate and pulled their car up in front of the garage, smashed a bedroom window and made off with his new laptop and a flat screen TV. A neighbor heard voices, but just assumed that he had company.  Someone did get a pretty good description of the car and the police dusted for fingerprints around the broken window. It will be hard to get good prints because the wood is old on the frames and kind of splintery.  Hopefully they'll get at least one good one and it will be somebody already in the system.  I told  him I'd give  his insurance co. a check for the deductible as that has to be less than buying yet another new computer and a flat screen TV. [:@] There's no way he'd be able to replace that himself right now OR come up with the deductable. Now, I think I need to get him one of those alarms that can be set to sound like a snarling pack of dogs.
 
Joyce

I find the same things strange too.  While I think proximity makes crime higher in the lower income areas, I realize that happens even in other areas too.  What surprises me is that they're so bold to do it in a quiet neighborhood where anyone could be looking out or walk outside. 
 
Crime has risen in certain areas near me (middle-high income) but it's been mostly at theaters and fitness centers.  That I can understand.  It's fairly safe to scope out when someone goes in to see a movie or workout and figure you've got an hour or more to rip them off. 

This is really creepy,  but I few years ago I remember reading that certain burglars were picking their victims by reading obituaries. They'd get the address of the deceased, note when the funeral was going to be, and  break into the house at that time figuring nobody would be home. [:@]
 
Joyce

Once again,alot of detail.... But my theory is that older cars are easier to break into than the new ones.
My OH's 1983 car got broken into when it was parked in between 2 very new expensive cars,which also most likely had alarms fitted.It's jsut that his was easier to break into and didnt have an alarm.

 
I have to agree, I had a car stolen before, but it wasn't the more expensive one.
The more expensive one had an after factory car alarm, and was so sensitive that it would go off when I accidentally bumped into the mirror.
Thieves like the easiest targets, with the least amount of work.