RoughCollie Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Aidan was going wild at the door, barking, howling, growling. It's 12:30 at night, and I think there is probably a cat on my porch. He is going so crazy that I break my new Unbreakable Rule about not opening the door in case there is a cat out there. I leash up Aidan, and call DS3 to hold him so he doesn't choke pulling on the leash. I open the door and people are standing there, so I shut it real quick and lock it. We don't have a doorbell, so they probably knocked. (Not having a doorbell is common here in the middle of nowhere.) At first, I don't know what to do. I tell my son, "There are people out there!" My head is spinning -- are these burglars? Serial killers? People hopped up on meth? I never even saw them, just the torso of the male (turned out they were a male and a female), because I didn't open the door wide enough and shut it very quickly. I come to my senses after trying to figure out what to do if they are there to hurt us (the state police are at least 45 min. away), and ask them what they want through the locked door. They want to come in to charge their cell phone so they can call someone to come and get them. Okay, these have to be kids (turned out they were 17). Still, they aren't coming in. Aidan is not happy, and what if they are murderous kids? I asked the guy his name, who he needed to call, what he wanted to say, and for a name and phone number. I called his stepfather, who was very worried b/c he'd been trying to call the kids for awhile. He was a couple of miles away and came over and got them. Turns out the kids were supposed to spending the night at a 17 year old girl's house. Her boyfriend was there, and the kids found out he was 30 years old!!! So they "had an altercation" and hoofed it out of there. The stepfather was polite and relieved, not mad or drunk (thankfully). I told him I couldn't let the kids in because my dog was riled up. Luckily, we have a front porch so they had a place to sit and wait. I guess mine was the only house with lights on. This is what I get for staying up late to peruse Petfinder and a wheaten rescue site. Naturally, I found a dog I want -- a mixed wheaten, who looks just like Aidan, only she is black. Actually, two dogs -- the dog they think is her mother is a wheaten -- the skinniest one I've ever seen, poor thing has to gain weight before she can be spayed. But that is neither here nor there. Aidan and I aren't ready to add another dog yet. Aidan barks like this from time to time in the middle of the night. I do the same routine, and there is never anything out there that I can see. It is pitch dark, so I can't see far beyond the porch. I'm sure glad I have Aidan. Here I've been thinking he's a false alarm dog, except for the recent kitten fiasco, and he turned out to be a great watch dog! Thank goodness this turned out to be a benign situation, with no dropped-off kittens involved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I'm glad to hear everything went well, and I think you handled the situation perfectly. I can only imagine how you must have felt when you opened the door and there were people on your porch!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Another great reason to get an "Aiden"! :) Good for you! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Give Aiden a doggie treat for me!! Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 I can only imagine how you must have felt when you opened the door and there were people on your porch!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: Now that it is over, I'm thinking how lucky I am that I didn't have another heart attack. During the first minute, I was panicked. Where I live, it is not common for people to show up at the door at midnight, but it is common for people to be less gentile than I am used to (drugs, booze, general roughness, gun-toting, criminal records). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Wow! You did have an exciting night! I'm glad that you have a good head on your shoulders and handled it well. (Don't quote me on the compliment - I will delete it later.:D:auto: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Do you have a chain for your door? I don't have one now, but growing up in the city I was taught to open the door 'on the chain' at night - it only allows a crack to look through but doesn't let anyone in. A peephole in the door is another option. Best wishes Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Laura, I don't have a chain. No peephole either, and there is no place to put one. The front door has a long panel of plexiglass on it (with which our landlord replaced its original glass). It used to be covered with blinds and a door curtain. Then we got Aidan, who ripped down the blinds when he was trying to see what was out there. Since this would be a recurring problem, I put window film on it, which we cannot see through. Since the door opens directly into our living room, that was necessary for privacy at night, when the lights are on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 You are MUCH more thoughtful than I am! When my dogs go nuts in the middle of the night, I open the door and let them chase whatever is out there. For us, that would mean the poor teens would have had piddled on shoes (and probably wet their own pants.) It would never occur to me in the moment that post-midnight visitors would be harmless. :blushing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) You are MUCH more thoughtful than I am!When my dogs go nuts in the middle of the night, I open the door and let them chase whatever is out there. Wheaten terriers cannot be trusted to run free of leash or fence. There may be exceptions, but Aidan is not one of them. We have a lot of porcupines and groundhogs here. I saw a dog at the vet a couple of weeks ago whose entire face and muzzle were covered with long porcupine quills. He had to be put under general anesthesia so the vet could remove the quills. Groundhogs will fight viciously. So, all in all, it is probably not a great plan to let Aidan out anyway. He has a very high prey drive. It took me a minute to realize that these were probably harmless visitors. I figured they had car trouble. My house was the only one that had the lights on; nearly everyone else is a farmer who goes to work at 4 or 4:30 a.m. Since we are so rural, there was nowhere else the kids could go for help without waking up the household. I hope they learned to keep their cell phones charged. Most of my family was asleep, and they didn't wake up even though Aidan was making so much noise! Edited October 17, 2012 by RoughCollie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I would have been TERRIFIED! You handled that well. I don't u derstand why the kids wanted to come. Side to charge their phone. They should have just asked you to call someone for them. Oh well. Those silly developing brains.:D I think Aiden needs a sibling. Make that two.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 (edited) I think Aiden needs a sibling. Make that two.;) I have come to my senses about the dog(s). Transport is available, but I don't know if this includes from VT to PA. More importantly, even though the rescue might let me foster the dog, I will have her for quite a while if she turns out to have problems stemming from her past, or she and Aidan don't get along. If she became Aidan's partner in crime or she has problems, then I'd literally go crazy. 4 teens and 2 or 3 terriers, even with my relaxed and laid back personality (;)), would be too much. Edited October 18, 2012 by RoughCollie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Amazing Aidan!!!!!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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