I was living alone and I was woken up by a noise. As I listened I swore I heard someone jerking at my rear sliding door. I grabbed my gun and cleared the house. Thankfully, it had snowed and there were not any footprints at the back door. I have no idea what the sound was.

So, you notified Security and they basically blew off your concerns.... and it turns out they were wrong? And there have been previous incidents?

If you're in a gated community that really warrants being gated (vs. just for appearances of exclusivity), then Security should have the mindset of assuming the worst, and hope for the best, not assume it's nothing and be wrong. Imagine if the real cops blew off your 911 call.

I'd be mad about the mishandling by your Security folks, and would let them know in no uncertain terms. And there should be clarity about what should happen.... Does security investigate (yes)? Should they notify local cops? Should residents call 911 directly? All of the above? .... Sounds like none of the above is current practice.

Yup. Wife and I have a rescue Malinois. Wicked smart, very trainable, and definitely not to be fucked with.

About a year after we got her, she and I were on a late night walk and got hemmed in by three pit bull mixes on the loose. I took on one with an inch diameter stick. She held the other two off by her own damn self until some neighbors heard the racket and came running. I would feel sorry for anyone dumb enough to try to burgle my house with her in it.

Downside for GreenPlease is Malinois are very high energy and need a lot of engagement and exercise. I think GreenPlease is single and works an office job, might be tough to have a Maligator without some help.

Same. We leave the front and back doors open in the summer with screen doors. The dog HATES anyone who comes to the front door. Not sure about the back door. When people call the police around here, it's usually when they mistake their neighbor for a burglar.

Get your HOA to pay for a full security analysis. It's obvious the security you have is a joke. Get motion detectors installed ASAP. Get some cameras with good night vision. It might have taken you 3 - 5 seconds to wake up. That's plenty of time for you to become a victim. Gated communities scream money and it's appears the word is out that yours is an easy target. Windy's point about driving a stolen car out might be a clue that the crooks have help from someone hired to protect you. What kind of background checks were run by the HOA? Or just because they had law enforcement experience were they given a pass?

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"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

The security doesn’t do anything, they just “monitor”, like in those commercials. Lol

Yeah this is a bit of a double whammy for me: “office” job that has me on the road a lot for work. Neither is great for having a dog. Not sure how I’ll make that work but I’ll find a way.

I don’t disagree with you at all. On the one hand I probably should have been more vigilant and at least cleared the house, turned on the outside lights, and had a look around... but on the other hand everyone in the community pays for security as part of the HOA so the guard should have paused Netflix, hopped in a car, and driven the area.

We hire off duty or retired LEO but I almost wonder if that works against us. Maybe the off duty guys look at it as a “soft” gig and just don’t pay attention and do the minimum? Maybe the retired guys see it as a “nice” part of town so there’s nothing to worry about? I don’t know. Could be a management problem. After the car thefts last year we implemented a policy that the gates went to manual mode between 11:00pm and 5:00am and everyone, residents with a barcode included, had to provide ID coming in or going out. That policy died after about three months. Usually guests have to provide photo ID but guards basically waive people through based on how nice their car is.

I wonder if our security almost creates an illusion that the people have something worth stealing and is thus counterproductive? Maybe this evening I’ll check public records to see what I can find about robberies in the general area. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the homes outside of gated communities were less likely to get robbed?

Did they catch the guy?? I'm thinking that a lot of those possible break ins might be from that sonic boom. I remember when the shuttle landed at Edwards once, sounded and felt like a bomb went off right outside my house, 40 miles away. I mean everything shook, and I honestly felt like the windows were going to blow up.

Anyway, sonic booms dont actually break in and steal stuff, so at least one neighbor had an issue, and of course that signals that just maybe you all who woke up with this coincidential noise and shaking, now have to wonder...

Dogs are great, but of course that is a huge commitment. Motion detectors are great deterrents, but then you have to sleep with eye covers, especially if you have a lot of varmints in the area like I do..It would just be party time for the coyotes and rabbits at my place..

Maybe this explains it:

Beat me to it.
Great dogs.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ-ΛΑΒΕ
we're doomed