The tiny dog prevented a big crime.
The Victim: Erich and Delene Ephraim
Date: Saturday, Feb. 12
Time: 5 a.m.
Location: 9500 block of Mossridge
It was a cold morning, in the mid-30s, and the sun was not expected to rise for another couple hours. Delene Ephraim and her husband, Erich, were asleep in their White Rock Valley home when a distinct noise — the repeated yapping of their tiny Dachshund — broke the night’s silence. Ephraim says her husband got out of bed to investigate the commotion in the backyard.
“He came out and started turning on all the lights,” she says. “The dog just wouldn’t stop barking.”
Amazingly, someone had actually scooped up the puzzled pooch and put it in its doggy crate. A closer investigation also revealed someone had tampered with a window screen in an apparent attempt to enter the home. The tiny pooch had saved the day — a canine hero.
Unfortunately, the Ephraims’ good fortune did not extend to their neighbor.
“The neighbor behind us hadn’t been at home and they got cleaned out,” Ephraim says.
Burglaries with residents in the home, are a scary proposition for sure, but luckily “man’s best friend” lived up to the adage in this case.
Dallas Police Sgt. Keitric Jones of the Northeast Patrol Division says dogs are good pets due to the fact that they can scare away burglars. He says this type of attempted burglary is rare.
“No matter if the dog is big or small, the bark usually scares the burglars away,” he says. “Break-ins are not really common during the night time hours. They are usually in the day because that is when most people work. If burglaries happen at night, it is normally because the suspect knows that no one is home.”
Because of this, Jones says to make sure your home is adequately lit during hours of darkness, especially in the rear of the residence, and make sure windows and doors are secure at all times even when at home. If you are present during an attempted break-in, Jones says, call the police, stay in a safe place until officers arrive and do not confront the burglar.
