The scariest thing just happened to me

[lovemyshiba]

Wow!!

Well, here in central Pennsylvania, it's a holiday today--the first day of hunting season Kids don't have to go to school, mechanics are closed, beer distributers are closed--basically a lot of the jobs where men make up the majority of the workforce are closed today.

Anyway, I do not live in the middle of town, but I do not live close to where people would be hunting either. Four or five miles away maybe, but not close enough for what just happened.--

I got home around 3 from work, and it was sunny and not too cold out, so I decided to go out with the pups. I had to clean up the yard too, and I can play and clean up poo at the same time.
Well, we were outside for about a half hour and I heard 2 shots--not totally weird, because I can hear them at my house even far away. Soon after, I heard a weird whistling noise, kind of like fireworks, and then BAM!! I heard something hit the fence or the deck--I wasn't sure. I yelled to the dogs and the five of us ran inside. I didn't know what to do. Was it stray gunfire from the hunters? Where did it go? Who should I call? Do I call the cops? Was it a coincidence and an acorn or something just hit the deck really hard? My mind was racing. I called my husband--he asked some people at work--the guys said the hunting rifles wouldn't make that whistling sound. Finally I was brave enough to go out and inspect the fence--sure enough, there was a splintered piece and a hole in the fence
I saw a man out there walking with his beagle and I asked if they were hunting, jokingly, and he said no but that beagle saw 3 deer back there earlier today, and was retracing the scent.

Now, people aren't allowed to hunt close to houses, but some are careless and stupid--someone may have seen one of those deer back there and taken a shot.

I went to tell some neighbors, and also found out that some "kids" in the neighborhood have guns and have been out shooting around with them.

We called the cops, but they have yet to show up--it's dark out now, so I suppose they wouldn't find anything. I wish they would though, I could have been shot!! My dogs could have been too. There's a walking path directly behind my fence where this happened--anyone could have been hurt or even killed!!!!!!!

The other teensy tiny thought that entered my brain was that someone was shooting directly at my yard--at the time, Abbey was barking her head off because we were playing with the footballs, and Jada got it from her (she does that). What if that's what it was???

All I know is that I'm scared to let the dogs go back out.
I'm very thankful that no one was hurt, but still afraid--is this same thing going to happen tomorrow???

[caseysmom]

Be cautious for now, see what the police say.

[chelsea]

That must of been scary, I'm glad you're okay. I hope the cops catch the person.

[cookieluver7]

I would be cautious and keep a sharp eye out for your pups if you let them outside.

[tatsxxx11]

Oh Emily, how frightening! I detest guns. A few dogs have been "accidentally" shot here during hunting season and the hunting area is so close to the beach (in the marsh area) that most people don't even dare walk the dunes or trails leading to the beach till late winter, even with reflective orange gear on. I hope the police show up soon! It definitely sounds that someone is out of control! A shot in your fence; kids outside with guns shooting randomly? That's outrageous. I can't imagine gunfire in a residential neighborhood! Some people have a real issue with barking dogs and if it's some jerky kid with a gun....well, I'd keep the doggies inside until they police can get to the bottom of this. I hope that's SOON!

[KYS]

How scary for you.
I hope they find the ones who shot towards your
fence. This time they were lucky, next time someone
might get shot.

[shais_mom]

how frightening Emily!
{{hugs to all of you}}
I hope that the cops get to the bottom of this.

[Kater]

My goodness! Thank goodness no one was hurt!!!
I hope there is some resolution of this issue - you should be able to feel safe in your own yard!

[NoahsMommy]

That's really scary!

Please be safe and let us know what the police say.

[AmberLee]

OMG!!! Any update yet?

[Christiansmommy]

That is scary...we can kinda relate here...

We were driving to my in laws house this past spring, and we heard this very loud noise on our window of the car...my hubby said that it had to be a gun shot ( bb gun), so he said, lets turn around, b/c about 5 seconds later a car behind us had pulled over to the side of the rode...so we turned around and went back, and his car got shot too, but his window was shattered!! Luckily, ours just had a little dimple in it, and luckily, both of our windows were closed, b/c the shots were head level...

So we called the cops, and they ended up having the state police come...( he took his good 'ol time getting there b/c he thought that they said it was just a paint ball gun shooting)...but it was in fact a real gun. So anyway, to make a long story short, it turns out some kids from the nearby neighborhood were out with their bb guns, and they were the ones who did it...and to make it even more complicated, the one kid was the son of the sherriff from that town. My hubby wanted to get the window replaced, just incase the dimple mark were to get worse, in time, but the police officer was very rude, didnt return calls, said that the mark was nothing to be concerned with, and basically that was that...hopefully, those kids were disciplined correctly by their parents...they claimed that they were shooting a bird and it ricochet off of a tree and hit the car, but it hit 2 cars in a row and right in the same spots...no cooinsidence there!! It is a very good town, no crime...so it was just strange that it happened to begin with....

Anyway, i hope that your situation never happens again...i am sure you were scared, if you are still concerned, i would call the police, other neighbors may have called, that you don't know about...but then again, they may say that it was too late now to do anything about it...

[catnapper]

I'd be in a dead panic. So many accidents happen the first day of hunting. Hubby and the kids had off yesterday for it too. So did my BIL and he took all my nephews hunting with him - his den is a disgusting show of stuffed animal head peering at me from above. YUCK! But at least he is a very cautious hunter and is teaching the kids to respect the environment, and to hunt away from where accidents might happen.

I hope the police were able to do something for you. that was the right thing to do - can you also call yuor local paper and tell them the stroy. Let them write an article about it so the neighbors and everyone else can be on the lookout for hunters in the residential areas.

[ramanth]

Any updates Emily? Did the police come?

Around here, hunting near houses is illegal. You or your dogs could of been hurt or killed. I hope they take the call seriously.

[Denyce]

Oh Emily!

How very scary! Please let us know what the cops had to say. I hope everything is ok with you this morning. We live more out in the woods up on the mountain so we tied an orange vest to Sequoia's kennel yesterday hoping that helps some ding dong hunter not mistake her for a deer. Because even though she is close to the house I don't trust them for a moment. I really don't like these two weeks of deer season.

Denyce

[lovemyshiba]

Thanks for all the concern everyone.

Well, the officer did show up finally last night, but not until around 7pm. Obviously he couldn't see much in the dark He had his flashlight, and he did check out the hole, took a report from me, and then basically said, "This is why I hate hunting season." He said someone would be checking that area today and if we see or hear anyone we are to call the police.

Not much comfort to me, but at least they did show up. He said they were busy with an accident, and that's why they didn't come out sooner--guess it wasn't really an emergency Had they come when I called, maybe they could have searched for a bullet or possibly found this person. It would have been better at least to find the bullet and tell me what kind of gun it was from--so I know it was a stray hunter's bullet, or if it was these people in my neighborhood who have been fooling around with their guns lately.

Not much else I can do, but everyone in the neighboorhood knows about it, and maybe someone saw or heard something else.