The first thing Debi Stout used to do when she got up in the morning was let her two Shih Tzus out in the backyard, propping the door open so they could go in and out on their own.

Not anymore.

On Thursday, May 11, she let the dogs out as usual and got in the shower at about 6 a.m. When she got out of the shower she could hear the dogs barking in an unusually frantic manner.

“They’re not scary dogs but they’re loud,” she says.

She noticed that the gate in the backyard, which is always closed, was open. The yard crew comes through that gate every Thursday so she thought they just came really early that day. But she didn’t see or hear anything and went to check the side yard.

As she walked down the hallway to see if she could see them, she heard one of the two doors leading from the dining room to the side yard slam shut.

“I was thinking all kinds of things. You know. All those thoughts flood through my mind, [including], ‘Maybe that’s why the dogs are barking.’”

When she got to the end of the hallway she saw a man running across the side yard.

Even though it was light outside, all she could see was dark pants, a dark jacket and dark hair – and that the man was short.

“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. Someone was in my house. Who was it and what was he doing?’”

She ran out front in her robe and slippers and saw a man walking down the street on the sidewalk. Stout says it had to be him because he was wearing the same clothes.

When she surveyed the crime scene, her purse was missing from the kitchen table. Luckily her car keys and phone weren’t in the purse.

“He wasn’t in there two seconds. And I was right behind him.”

She called 911 and told the operator that she was going to chase the suspect in her car. After circling the block, Stout returned home to give her statement to the responding officers.

There are a couple of happy endings to this story. First of all, the maintenance man at a nearby condominium found her purse and said he had seen a suspicious stranger walking the neighborhood. She was able to cancel her debit card and checks before the burglar was able to use them. More importantly, she avoided a confrontation with the intruder.

“At the time I was not scared. It happened too fast. That night I got a little spooked. If I had encountered him two seconds earlier who knows what could have happened.”

Stout says she’s blessed and that God must have been trying to tell her something.

“I’m locking all the doors from now on. I’m getting a doggy door, and I don’t leave the doors propped open. I was asking for it. I made it easy.”

Deputy Chief David Elliston says that’s a good idea. He explains that if you ever find yourself in a confrontation with an intruder, the best course of action is to take immediate evasive action to leave the house or lock yourself in a bathroom or bedroom.

“Don’t provoke an encounter,” he cautions. “Call 911 immediately.”

If you find yourself trapped, the law does provide the right to protect yourself by any means, up to and including taking the intruder’s life. However, Elliston does not suggest that residents arm themselves. If you are not comfortable using a weapon, it is more likely that it will be used against you.