Lots of good ideas. Thanks for taking the time to respond. For the moment, I got some motion detector lights for the front and the back, a motion detector alarm for the outside pantry (which is enclosed but the next area inside from the patio and where the break-in came from and others would likely occur), changed a couple of locks that were push button bathroom types (can be opened with a paper clip!). This should help us sleep tonight.
Had dogs, Rotties, for 30 yrs and I know they were great at keeping the riff-raff away. But the last experience (with bone and skin cancer) and really all the other really sad things over the years (and we travel) made us decide to give up on any more. It's been 5 or 6 years since we put down the last 2.
I said "he" as the generic pronoun but it rained early and I saw the wet footprints in the patio and it was pretty clearly a dude sized print in tennis shoes, not that it matters I guess.
There is no way to look into the kitchen without a ladder or already being in the pantry. In any event, we are keeping our wallets, purses, keys, checkbook, etc. elsewhere now.
The neighborhood isn't prone to burglaries any more than anywhere else in the middle of Los Angeles county. My property is zoned ag, we have a big nursery in back that leases from us, there are horses all over, etc. It is easy to get in the back from any number of directions. All the others nearby are acre lots at least, lots of trees, places to hide, walls and fences to jump.
The county in its infinite wisdom decided it would be a good idea to build a skateboard park in the middle of our block. It is 2 doors down from me. Mostly it is just local kids, but it pulls in some scumbags from who knows where. I've found all variety of drug and alcohol detritus out front including the occasional meth pipe. So that's not good.
When my wife woke me, I started to look around and quickly realized that this person(s) could still be inside or in the garage or around the yard. Still dark and raining a bit, I did grab my 9mm along with a flashlight to check everything. I have to say, I was very anxious. Not just because of the intruder, but having a loaded gun cocked and locked was scary. This is the first time I've ever pulled it out other than to clean it or go to target practice. I didn't feel safe with it. In fact I felt a whole lot better when I popped out the mag and jacked out the round in the pipe. Having both hands occupied was not comfortable. I know it is probably unrealistic, but I am a 4th degree black belt in Aikido and would prefer to take on someone empty handed. I know, I know... Don't want to start any thread derailers in my own thread! Just trying to describe how I felt.
Down the line we will be looking into a more sophisticated security arrangement. Down farther, we really want to move out of here. This is something we've been working on long before the break-in. Long story for another time.
