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itchyfeet we have come home to find we have been broken into, and we have four dogs

Hi itchyfeet
I have just noticed that you have posted in chat box that you have been broken into. Hope you and the dogs are OK
Hope you have not lost anything or been subjected to a lot of damage
Give us members an update when you are ready please
All the best

Seeing your latest post on Mini-chat , Do you think the perpetrators knew you were moving in 3 weeks time

Hadn't seen the minichat but just read this post. Hope your ok and they havent taken much. Fingers crossed the police can get your stuff back.

This is something we have always dreaded. So many friends have had break in's some twice or more.
I really felt safe in our home next door to where we are living now. Eric had tried to make it as secure as possible. [ But we all know if they want to get in they will of course].
We do not venture out very often and the weather is icy cold at the moment. Our car we bought in BG in December is lovely, but we have been getting her ready for the journey back, so had been at the garage having a few little things done. We left home about 2pm and returned about 7.30 pm after having a meal on route home. Pulled up and our German Shepherd Louie was running around on the top floor balcony, and then I noticed a door open panic.... I was driving and Eric just wanted the keys I won't repeat what he was shouting.
Thankfully no harm came to our dogs. But the police were amazed anyone would break into our home with Louie and Sofie having the run of the hall, stairs and landing. Sofie is very much like an Anatolian Shepherd dog and she is slightly bigger than Louie. Our two smaller dogs were in the kitchen and were not disturbed, but I am sure they must have made so much noise that they didn't dare open that door. Ayla would have bitten them I'm sure, she has already had one of our neighbours.
We count ourselves lucky as a great deal of our personnel stuff is packed. But took my newish laptop and my Mums watch, that has upset me.
Our bedroom was completely turned over, every item had been thrown onto the floor, with all my undies in full view.. Oh my God I thought but knew I was not to touch anything until the police had been.
It is the feeling it leaves you with, knowing someone has been, touched, and looked at all your personnel things, an invasion of your privacy.
We still have no idea how they could of got up onto the balcony and, open the door. Thankfully no real damage was done. But we had to sleep with the door open last night as, it was left in the locked position. We do not have a key for it, so Eric has a job to do, he has gone off to get a new lock.
Beautifulangel.. We really have no idea. Living here in winter is like village life, we all know each other. I really don't think we will ever find out. Just pleased we will be leaving soon.

Sorry to hear about this but its the way things are at the moment all round the world and I think as time goes by it will get worse until something changes with the economy.

this is everyones nightmare and thankfully no harm came to anyone. i hope with your move to bulgaria you can hopefully put it behind you. good luck with the move.

our neighbours were broke into recently and that made us think about security. we have now installed security grills on the two doors and grills to the inside of the winows which can open for reasons of escape. we feel more secure now.

Sorry to hear your news. We installed an alarm last year, but don"
t put it on when
the dogs are in the house as they might set the sensors off! Only on when we are all out.
All the villagers know we have dogs, which is a good thing. Most Bulgarians have guard dogs,
and the poor things are never allowed out the garden, and are usually chained up.
Hope the police catch the culprits.

Scunnered wrote:

Sorry to hear your news. We installed an alarm last year, but don"
t put it on when
the dogs are in the house as they might set the sensors off! Only on when we are all out.
All the villagers know we have dogs, which is a good thing. Most Bulgarians have guard dogs,
and the poor things are never allowed out the garden, and are usually chained up.
Hope the police catch the culprits.

Thanks Scunnered

Our two so called guard dogs seem not to have done a lot we think, Louie is a German Shepherd dog and Sophie is an Anatolian Shepherd dog, Turkish people cross the road when I walk them so that they don't go near them!! In the midst of the robbery a stool was brought downstairs by them whilst robbing us "
Bast..ds"
, we believe they used the stool to fend off the dogs, so the score for the big dogs for security was nil. In the kitchen on the other hand the two small dogs resided and no attempt was made to enter by the thieves, which is just as well for them because Ayla can be very nasty and actually bite one of our neighbours who came in the garden unannounced, so the score for security by them was 100%. We are getting over it, tomorrow we have lived here 5 years and this has to happen 3 weeks before we leave. So now we don't go out together, someone is always in the house to guard whatever thieves may fancy on taking on their second visit. It is quite common for them to break in 2 or 3 days after their first attempt thinking that the occupants have replaced what they stole the first time, well, they can think again because one of us is here with the dogs, for whatever use they are!! All in all, we are glad the dogs are safe and unharmed and we are glad we are going from here in Turkey and look forward to our next adventure in life in BG!!

starlite wrote:

this is everyones nightmare and thankfully no harm came to anyone. i hope with your move to bulgaria you can hopefully put it behind you. good luck with the move.

our neighbours were broke into recently and that made us think about security. we have now installed security grills on the two doors and grills to the inside of the winows which can open for reasons of escape. we feel more secure now.

Thank you Starlite for your support. We are installing a dog friendly alarm.

I attach some pictures of our larger dogs!!

awwwwwwww they are lovely. they will love bulgaria, land land and more land.

starlite wrote:

awwwwwwww they are lovely. they will love bulgaria, land land and more land.

Yes, land is the thing they will enjoy and our property has 4500 sq mtrs of it. I have experience of owning a riding stables and a livery yard and so I have some idea how to keep the land in reasonable condition. But left on it's own land soon returns to woodland so I shall be doing plenty of work on it this year.

Sorry to hear about your break in, the sooner you leave the better.