Robbed by Probably-Not-Raccoons

Let me set the scene. Friday morning after the world's longest work week. I make my way to the kitchen, all excited by the work (Newsletter day! Best day of the month!) and what's this? A few of the doors in the kitchen are open and a drawer. Weird. I shut them and continue with my regular morning tour which normally doesn't reveal very much.

Basically, the clean place I left is slightly... not clean. And weird too. Something is wrong but I just can't place what. Just stuff is moved, a bit.

And what oh what do I think? Now this just goes to prove that I am a country gal at heart. My absolute first instinct was that a dumbass raccoon got in. They look so sneaky, ya know? How could a raccoon get in? It happens.

So what if this coon was lurking around, hiding behind the sofa or something? I really needed my dog, but before I resorted to a St Bernard slobbering up the place I figured I better find it first, at least know what I was dealing with.

So I make my way to the youth game room. The backdoor was shut but the mat in front of it (the one that I placed so nicely the day before) looked like raccoons went skiing all over the centre with it. Dumbasses. I checked the door-- out of habit, I always check doors when I walk by them-- unlocked. Weird.  I mean, what kind of smarty-pants raccoons were these? 

Yes, sad to say, that was my exact thought. What kind of raccoons were these? Talk about denial, eh?

It was at about this point where I sunk into a heap of realization. Robbed. I'd been robbed by these probably-not-raccoons! How? When? Why in all of this world would anyone break in to a non-profit building? A million emotions crept up on me as I toured the building to find out what was missing. Of course, it could have been worse and when I saw the cash box was missing, denial crept in again, and I replayed my day yesterday, hoping to heck I didn't put the cash in the safe and maybe dragged it with me to the freezer or something. No such luck. I mean, of course not, I never did that yet.

So what's a gal to do when it's not a raccoon? Well. I did the exact same thing I would have done for the raccoons. I got my St Bernard to protect me and then I called someone to show me how my probably-not-raccons got in.

Wow. I did I ever get educated. Have any of you ever toured your house or business to look at it as an intruder? Very interesting.

Best part was when the RCMP officer asked me if I noticed anyone scoping the place out. The raccoon out back came to mind with their little bandit eyes. hmm. If I see one driving around on a new scooter, I'm turning them in. But seriously, never occurred to me to be on the look out for shifty characters. My job is to help people and keep dumbass raccoons out of the community centre. Now I added probably-not-raccoons to that list with a heavy sigh.


So, have you ever been robbed? What did you learn about yourself?


14 comments:

Victoria Lindstrom said...

Tanya - I'm so glad no one was harmed by the intruder. I have been robbed - years ago. The criminals broke a window while we were out of town, and entered our home, stealing only a few items. The crazy thing was, they must have known we were out of town. Even now, years later, I still remember the feeling of being violated. Thanks for the great imagery of the raccoons! ^_^

Reece said...

Maybe not the worst way to end the week, but definitely top ten. I'm so sorry! And I'm actually glad you weren't there when they broke in; you might have been hurt. Any chance of catching the probably-not-raccoons?

Erin Kane Spock said...

That's horrible. How violating, really. No, never had it happen personally, but happened to my in-laws. What sucked there was that it was probably my brother-in-law's friends (since they took the game stations and stuff), but he was unwilling to believe it.
My Grandma still goes to pawn shops with the hopes some of her items stolen years ago will show up. :(
I'm sorry you went through this. Good luck.

Samantha Sotto said...

UGH. That sucks. Glad no one got hurt. Someone broke into our house a few years back and stole my hubby's laptop. I totally feel your pain. Stay safe!

Jess said...

Oh my gosh, how terrible! I would have thought raccoons, too (if it were my house, anyway...we live in an area with lots of critters where I don't think about getting robbed). What a scary thing to happen~ I'm so glad nobody was there!

writing and living by Richard P Hughes said...

I've had items stolen, but I've never been robbed. Just having items stolen makes me mad. But, if that's the worst that happens, I'm pretty lucky.

J.L. Campbell said...

Sorry to hear about that and to have it happen to a non-profit outfit too. Have had things stolen, but not by burglars.

Juliana L. Brandt said...

Ohmygosh! That's scary and it's definitely an eye-opener. It's weird to look at your house/work from the eyes of an intruder *shudder*

I'm glad you're okay!!

p.s. I sent off my Happy Snail Mail last week, but then I realized...I didn't put extra postage onto the card to Canada!! Nooo! I'm sorry and I'll have to stick another one in the mail for you :)

David P. King said...

Yikes. not a fan of not-so-raccoons, either. I had my bike stolen in collage - three times. Always found it sprawled in front of the guys' dormitory. I could never figure out why these probably-college-students went through the effort of cutting my chain when there were other bikes on the rack without any lock at all. I share your sentiment. :)

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it takes a special kind of -not-raccoon to steal from a non-profit (speaking as someone who has spent her entire adult life working for non-profits). I'm glad you have your St. Bernard to protect you, though.

-Vicki

Shallee said...

Oh, wow, scary! I've never been robbed, and I hope it stays that way. I'm glad you weren't hurt, though I'm sorry about the cash box. Who steals from a non-profit?? So awful.

Valentina Hepburn said...

Hi Tanya,
It must have been horrible when it dawned on you, that actually this wasn't a raccoon based crime. A guy broke into my house a while back when I was in bed recovering from jet lag. I could hear someone moving about in the kitchen, opening draws and cupboards and I thought it was my friend who'd stayed over. It turned out to be a guy, high on something looking for money. He opened my bedroom door and when I called out my friends name he ran for the front door. It's the 'might have been' that's so scary. Now, even when I just let Lily into the garden, I lock the door behind her.
So sorry, Tanya, and very glad you weren't there.

Valentina Hepburn said...

I meant 'drawers' of course, sweetie. I wouldn't want just anyone poking about in my 'draws', it just would not do!

Margo Berendsen said...

Our house was robbed when I was a teenager and I remember feeling the same way when I came home from school and things were just SLIGHTLY out of wack. My first thought was, "hmm, my parents dont' usually leave the place such a mess"