We didn't have our puppy at the time. We did get a Standard Schnauzer...and he's growing like a weed! He's still not so keen on the barking at odd noises, though...the vet says he should start naturally guarding his pack and home in a couple of months so we'll see how alert and prepared he is when he hears strange noises in the future. We may have to create some of our own and reward him for barking to teach him that it's GOOD to bark at things that don't feel right.
Hubby was glad it was nothing, but still had to poke fun because he thinks I should have been able to get ahold of his parents before calling 911.

It might be a good idea to get a landline but, because we're on the border of three different cities, we had problems getting any company in one city to take responsibility for phone service when we first moved in...which is why we still don't have one. They kept telling us, "Oh, no Denison takes care of that." "Nope, that'll be Pottsboro." "You need to get with Sherman or Denison..." ARGH!! We'll probably get a landline in the future but it'll probably take some stern words and time to figure out who's supposed to service our area since they can't even agree on it!
The bedroom window opens into our carport area near the backyard and the officer did visit the window to assure me it was the police outside before I opened the door. Pretty much all of the windows in the house are either stuck or need a lot of force to open, and I have yet to crack the bedroom window open unfortunately. The only one that opens easily is the bathroom window and there's not an easy way for me to access it without giving away my location to an intruder.
But, as I said, we finally got the study door that opens into the backyard to OPEN! And it's not loud when opening anymore either, so it would be a quiet escape route. At the time this happened, it took all my strength to yank it open and you could hear it clear across the house.

I still am embarrassed because all I heard for a week afterwards was neighbors asking if everything was okay because they saw lights, and that combined with my mother-in-law's offers to sleep over really just made me feel worse. She was well-intentioned, of course, but didn't seem to understand that my panic was because my phone didn't work and I had no way of letting someone else know something was wrong. Once I got the phone issue fixed I felt much better. Hubby and I are also starting to fortify our home, which makes me feel safer too.
We plan on getting a camera system installed so that we can view all entrances to our home and the outside of our bedroom door so that if we DO hear a strange noise, we can assess the threat before acting. It would take a fair amount of time, effort, and noise to actually get into our bedroom so we plan on having the main unit in the bedroom with us for quick access. And, again, that study door can now be used as an escape route!
