It ate me up for about 3 months. I'm better now but the anniversary got me checking things and pondering it again.

Dogs are the best, aren't they? (Just my opinion, cat lovers, don't get bent; I like cats too. Just don't find them as useful as dogs)

Holy shit... that is what this guy did... watching me sleep ... woke up to it

@Ad4hubby yeah me too. I actually think he was going to rob the place as he seemed surprised to see me there with someone else.I thought I was in a dream at first. He ran whe I started to go after him

@btroje OMg that exactly what happened here... I thought it was a dream... I could not go into my bedroom for weeks... I think i slept on the sofa for 3 months. I love my bed... that fucker pissed me off sooooooooo badly

@Ad4hubby I knew it affected me but I didnt know how much. I got a great dane about a year later.Oft mistaken for a tiger.I was able to go anywhere with her. I didnt realize how much I had avoided going out alone until after that fear lifted. SHe helped me out more than once

@Condor5 I have to stand in defense of cats. I have a tuxedo girl that sits on a windowsill above me when I sleep. If not on the windowsill she is sleeping on top of me. SHe yowls when the dogs alert

@btroje I was terrified to leave the house lest I come home and find the house open or someone inside. I was a prisoner here for a while of sorts. I slept in bits during the day and as I work from home, I worked at night. I had every light on for months. Now I can turn off the lights, lie in my own bed and feel comfortable again. However, I am vigilant about locking up and cannot even bring myself to leave a window open at night.

@btroje It really stays with you...

@Ad4hubby that experience for me was about 30 years ago. I do not think about it separately any more and don't have the same degree of fears but I am sure there is a residue that can never be rinsed away

@Condor5 I won't argue with you that cats are pretty useless unless you have mice. However, dogs are much more work. My cats hide under the bed when anyone strange comes into the house. Yeah, pretty useless.

@HippieChick58 now, now, I didn't say useless, I said not as useful; and I'm saying that in context of the story. My daughter has a cat that I like a lot. We had cats when I was a kid, and my dad, r.i.p., was a cat person.

That's a great idea!

Thank you You know I was having so much trouble functioning in the immediate days after that I went to a therapist. She was the BEST person I could have ever chosen. She had been thru the same thing. So she knew exactly how I felt and could help me to accept and look at what I could do to prevent it happening again. I saw her twice and it was money well spent.

My worry about guns is that it would be taken or used on me

@btroje I feel the same way, never owned a gun and I have traveled all across the country alone in a camper. I try always to behave, as if I am in my strength! And, I pay attention, even when I am not looking directly at people! I take in everything around me.

@Freedompath yes I got caught up in a bad situation when I was 18. DIdnt turn out what most people would think of as good but I know if I had a gun it would have been worse

The trouble is that when you have an intruder in your home, it is combat situation. For a small 5ft tall woman whose bed is 10 feet from the door, the challenge is to get the gun, take of the safety and be ready. What is the likelihood of that when being awakened by an intruder who is so close to your person upon gaining entry? Logically I know who I am. I'm not combat trained. Statistically I know what the odds are. The gun would be used on me. I think hunting, LE and those specifically trained can have at it. I am not. I feel if I were to own one, I would be adding to the problem and not helping.

@btroje Yes...it is better to be raped and stabbed to death rather than have your own gun used against you. I wonder what cops do about that problem.

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply it was a good idea or even a rational one but it crossed my mind. I keep a kids aluminum softball bat by the bed. I also have sword handy but all I know about using that is "the pointy end goes in to the other man."

@dahermit your remark is uncalled for and you have no idea what you are talking about. I have had plenty of experience talking to violent people that turned out fine without the use of a gun

@dahermit nice... and clearly you are a gun nut... moving on. Logic is elusive

@Fearlessfreep If I thought it were a good option for me, I would have gotten one. I did think about it and I'm very anti-gun. Things like this make you reassess your views on lots of things. I just don't think for me, it is the best option. Then again... I do still think about it at times. I joked with my kids about keeping a crossbow under the bed. Shooting it and pinning the guy to the door by his shoulder as he entered the bedroom. Running past him as he screamed "bitch" at me... LOL My sons are in the military so we did discuss this at length... Right or wrong... need or not a need?? This stuff certainly brings things to mind that one does not think will ever be an issue.

@Ad4hubby What about pepper spray and a tazer?

the cops did nothing... I mean NOTHING. I was not hurt and nothing was missing so they ignored it. They would not even patrol. The chief was great but he is not in a squad car at night and the ones that are, are not doing much. There is no CCTV here... sadly or not sadly as I love it here, it is a little quiet lake town.

@Ad4hubby same here

@btroje My neighbors here said to call the state police directly if it happens again. The locals came and chased someone thru the woods, but did not fingerprint my doorknob or anything. Do you have any options other than your useless locals?

@Ad4hubby not sure i understand your questions but those are the same steps I would use.

We never discovered who he was... the lady across the lane from me said that a skinny tall guy in a dark hoodie (what I saw) would come thru the path thru the woods and ride his bike slowly past my house not taking his eyes off my house during the summer. My office is in the back of the house so I never saw this. It was life altering.

@Ad4hubby I can imagine so. This nutbag has probably done it before and since. I hope the cops can find some evidence, put it together and do something.

Do lock up... I was lax in this quiet place.

The cameras that I installed are motion activated and light up. So far that seems to be doing the trick.

I got a very smart mutt... adoption I looked for a while and settled on this little guy

Beautiful!

I am so glad the neanderthal is gone and you are safe ....a Michigan National Guardsman should gladly do the job if doors rattle again

he tried to get in again a few times... I never found out who he was. It was creepy but he seems to have moved on Thank you ... it was VERY freaky

Thank you

yappy dogs are the bomb!