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  • Home
    • Disclosure Policy
    • About Me
  • What's New! (Blog)
  • Low-Carb Lifestyle!
    • Trim Healthy Mama-inspired Grocery Lists
    • THM-style Beverages >
      • Mock Starbucks Mocha Frappuccinos
    • Family Favorite Recipes (Not Low Carb) >
      • Snacks >
        • Delicious Homemade Gooey Granola Bars!
        • Healthy Peanut Buttery Treats
      • Soups and Stews >
        • Jamaican Seafood Chowder
        • Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
      • Salads >
        • Red Cabbage Coleslaw
      • Main Dishes >
        • Beef >
          • Beef Stroganoff
        • Chicken >
          • Chicken Fiesta
          • Chicken Nachos
          • Marinated Zucchini and Chicken Sandwiches
          • Chicken or Turkey Enchiladas
          • Hungarian Chicken Paprikash
          • Green Chili Chicken Lasagna
        • Lamb >
          • Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder
        • Seafood >
          • Chilled Quinoa and Salmon Salad (E)
          • Shrimp and Zucchini Tostadas
        • Pasta Recipes >
          • Baked Lemon Pasta
          • Paccheri (Pasta) with Cauliflower and Tomatoes
      • Desserts >
        • Cookies >
          • Free Christmas Cookie cookbook download!
          • Healthier Gingerbread Man Cookies
          • Healthier Holiday Cut-Out Cookes
          • Maple Leaf Cookies - YUMMM!
        • Donuts
        • Frozen Desserts >
          • Lemonade Ice Cream Pie
    • Recommended Ingredients and Foods >
      • Inspiration Mixes - Gluten/Dairy/Caseine/Wheat Free and delicious!
      • Organic Maple Syrup
  • Homeschooling
    • Homeschool Curriculum & Product Reviews >
      • Homeschool Curriculum Reviews >
        • Art >
          • ARTistic Pursuits
          • Simply Draw!
        • Grammar >
          • All About Homophones - (Marie Rippel)
          • Time 4 Learning
          • Daily Grams
        • Handwriting >
          • Cursive Handwriting - New American Cursive
        • History >
          • The Mystery of History >
            • MOH vol. 3 Audio MP3's
          • Tapestry of Grace History
          • U.S. History >
            • America, The Last Best Hope (William Bennett)
          • Winter Promise
        • Latin >
          • Latina Christiana, by Memoria Press
          • Visual Latin
        • Literature-based Unit Studies >
          • Beyond Five in a Row
          • Further Up and Further In by Diane Pendergraft
        • Logic and Reasoning >
          • Building Thinking Skills (Critical Thinking Skills Co.)
        • Math >
          • Math Mammoth
          • Math Tutor DVD.com
          • MathRider: Horselovers' Math Facts Software Game!
        • Music and Composers
        • Online Educational Courses >
          • Aleks Online Courses
        • Science >
          • Apologia Science >
            • Apologia Science's Notebooking Journals
            • Zoology 1 - Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day
          • Science Weekly newsletters
        • Spelling >
          • Phonetic Zoo (by IEW)
        • Writing >
          • The Write Foundation: Level 2 - Paragraphs
          • WriteShop's StoryBuilders
      • Homeschool Product Reviews >
        • eBooks >
          • College Success Begins at Home (TOS eBook)
          • Dreams and Designs—Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool
          • Help, Lord, I'm Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler!
          • The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner
        • Online Educational Website Memberships >
          • KB Teacher
        • Science >
          • Polymer Crystals
    • Driver's Education for Homeschoolers
    • Foreign Language >
      • Latin >
        • Christmas Songs in Latin
        • Latina Christiana (Level 1) >
          • Latina Christiana Level 1 Lesson Links >
            • Charts and Helps
            • Year One Sayings
            • LC1 Intro and Lesson 1
      • Latina Christiana (Level II) >
        • Latina Christiana Level 2
        • LC2 Intro and Lesson 1
    • Forms and Charts >
      • "Week At A Glance" Planner
      • 2012-2013 Homeschool Attendance Form
      • 2012-2013 Homeschool Attendance Form
    • Free Audio Books to Download
    • Free Homeschool I.D. Cards!
    • Government and Civics
    • Handwriting
    • History: Classical / Chronological >
      • The Mystery of History, by Linda Lacour Hobar
      • The Middle Ages (MOH vol. 2)
      • Ancient History (MOH vol. 1) >
        • Ancient Rome >
          • Roman Architecture
          • Roman Houses
          • Roman Town (software game by Dig-It)
          • Roman Trade and Commerce
    • Language Arts
    • Science
  • Free Printables
    • Holidays >
      • Christmas
  • Book/DVD/Audio Reviews
    • Children's Movie/DVD Reviews
    • Other Product/Company Reviews
  • Home & Family
    • Frugal Living
    • Gardening and Herbs
    • Marriage - God's Way
    • Life at Home
    • Godly Kids & Teens >
      • Godly Womanhood
      • Sharing God With Your Children
      • Training Our Daughters to be Keepers at Home >
        • Keepers At Home - "Beginning of Club Year" Helps
        • Keepers At Home - "End of Club Year" Helps
        • KAH Skills >
          • Bible Memory >
            • Memorizing New Testament Books and Their Meanings
            • Proverbs 31:10-31
          • Cake Decorating
          • Card Making >
            • Stitched Cards
          • Computers
          • Character Studies >
            • Contentment and "I'm Bored" phrases
            • Willingness
          • Decoupage
          • Hospitality
          • Library Skills and Literature Pins
          • Sewing >
            • Beauty and the Pig - Goldie Doll
            • Edwardian-Style Aprons
            • Paper Piecing
      • Children >
        • Bible Study Bookmarks
        • The Church History ABCs (for kids!!!)
        • The Lord's Prayer - copywork
        • Some Thoughts...Family Bible Time
        • Running Away...with permission
      • Young Adults (Teens) >
        • Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss
        • Deeper Roots: Discovering Our Amazing God
  • Frugal Family Trips to Washington, D.C.
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Cats are My Favorite Animal, but Dogs Saved Our Day!

7/10/2011

8 Comments

 
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     I'll be the first to admit that I prefer cats over dogs.

     I know, I know, I'm probably going to get some hate mail over that statement, but it's true. 

     Dogs can be very sweet...but. 

     Cats can be left inside the house for a week while we're on vacation.

     Cats generally don't have body odor.

     Cats bury their treasures so we don't step onto them in the backyard.

     Cats don't bark at every human or animal that walks past our home.

     The other day, though, I was very thankful that we had volunteered to dogsit two sweet schnauzer girls for some friends of ours.

     In fact, when a stranger knocked on my screen door the other morning and commented about how the dogs are excellent watch dogs, I didn't tell him that we are only dogsitting for a few days.  I figured he didn't need to know that they would be going back home at the end of the weekend.

     We occasionally have strangers come to our front door and ask if they could please come in and use our phone.  I never let strangers come into our home like that, so don't worry, I didn't let him in.

     This time, though, the man at the door was dressed fairly well but spoke like a snake.  He was too smooth, too slick.  His spiel about how he was trying to find a friend's house but didn't know the address and needed to use a phone to call his friend to get directions was too rehearsed, and the smile that went along with it was not sincere.  The backpack he was carrying may have indicated that he has hopped from town to town as a wanderer.  I don't know.

     I was thankful that we had installed a separate lock onto our screen door many years ago, so this man couldn't easily force his way into our home.

     I don't often call 9-1-1, but there have been a few times that I have found the need since we moved into our neighborhood. 

     This was one of those times.
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     After the man realized that I wasn't going to let him into my home, he asked if I thought there were any neighbors who would consider allowing him to use their phone. 

     I told him "no."

     Unfortunately, after he left my house with a smug smile on his face, he walked down to the apartment complex across the street.  From knowing someone who has lived in those apartments, I knew that none of the front doors contained screen doors, and many of the apartments are filled with single moms and children.  That made me nervous for those families down the street.

     So, off to the phone I went.  I called 911, knowing that at 9:30 in the morning on a weekday, the police wouldn't be very busy yet, at least not in our little town.  Within a few minutes, I noticed a police car parked at the top of the apartment complex. 

     A few minutes later, the two police officers escorted the wandering stranger back onto the street and seemed to be pointing to where he could find the nearest pay phone...or something.  I don't really know what they were discussing, but I saw some pointing going on in several directions.

     He wasn't arrested by the police, and the officers watched him for a minute to see that he was walking down the street, away from the apartment complex and my home. 

     At first, I felt a little bit embarrassed that I had called 911.  After all, he wasn't arrested, and apparently the officers hadn't needed to be rough with him.  The stranger was  cooperative.

     But something still hadn't been quite right.  I could feel it in my gut.  In the end, I was glad that I had felt led to call 911 and request officers to check out the situation.  That way, they knew he was in town, in case there were problems that happened later in the day or in the days to come.  At least the police would have a reference point to where he had been earlier in the day.

     Like I mentioned earlier, several times a year we have people ask if they can come into our home to use our telephone.  I always say "no."  I've offered to call someone for them, but with me inside the house and them outside, and they've all turned me down, so I know that their requests to use our phone are not legitimate.

     But this time, while this stranger gave me the creeps, I was very thankful to have Sophie and Sadie express their displeasure that he had come to the door.

     And I was thankful that this time, we had a dog.

     Oops - two dogs.

     That don't belong to us, but treated our family well on a day that started with a stranger asking to come inside our home.

     How do you protect your home from strangers who may wish to do harm to you or your family members?  Do you have a dog for this purpose?


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8 Comments
April
7/10/2011 01:26:52 am

We too have a dog.....for the kids and for me to feel a bit safer. She is 65 pounds and LOVES people. Of course, when I bring her to the door with me, holding her collar, people can't tell if she's going to be mean or nice. Really she just wants to invade their personal space and love on them, but seeing her lunge and me, trying to hold on to her, has caused more than one person to back up a bit.

I think calling 911 was the absolute right thing to do!

Reply
April link
7/10/2011 09:57:59 pm

That is really creepy. Nobody should be knocking on doors to use a phone. Find a business or something! You did the right thing calling the police! I'm glad you had the dogs too! Our dog is deaf and totally friendly, not much of a watchdog. :-(

April

Reply
Lori link
7/11/2011 05:54:59 am

Oh my! How scary! We live in a very small town and everyone who stopped by to ask to use the phone did let me do it for them. One was a young lady with 2 small kids whom she was babysitting! She was obviously not a threat and needed to call the mom to see when she would be back. I guess she was late and they had no phone. How sad. Anyway, no we don't have dogs, nor do I have a screen door or even a peep hole to see who is there. Hmm, I will have to think about that!

~Lori

Reply
Faith link
7/11/2011 10:54:02 pm

Hi there! I just wanted to say how much I love your site! I also wanted to comment about your "stranger" story. We have a dog who is not brave at all, but strangers don't know that. Unfortunately, we live in a world where people will do just about anything to support their drug addiction, etc... even if that means breaking into a home. I NEVER ever answer the door when my husband is not home. My husband also has his concealed weapons permit and thankfully, he has never had to use it. Thank you for sharing!

Reply
Lynnae link
7/12/2011 10:39:09 am

Strangers can't even get to our door without crossing Chloe, the wonder mutt! At times it annoys me, but since we live on a street that is pretty isolated, and many times our neighbors are gone during the day, the dog helps us feel safe. One thing is for sure: no stranger will ever be able to sneak up on our house!

Reply
Julieanne
7/12/2011 01:13:37 pm

I don't have a strong desire to have a full-time dog in our home, but I can see why so many people choose to have a dog, not only because they love their dogs, but also for protection.

@Faith, Thank you for letting me know that you enjoy my site here! I enjoy working on it from time to time to share with all of you wonderful readers! :)

Julieanne

Reply
Hollie
7/12/2011 01:14:30 pm

I love how God uses different things for the protection of His children! I am so grateful that we have our two dogs. There have been more than one occasion that God has used them for the protection of not only our house but my family (which is so much more important than any "stuff!")."

Hollie

Reply
Jan
7/12/2011 03:16:48 pm

Glad you are ok!

Reply



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