The Alarm WORKS!

How do I know? I'll tell ya!

A few months ago, we were given alarm equipment for free with free installation. We only had to pay the monthly fee. I think we may have signed a service agreement as well, but I can't remember for sure. But anyway... I digress.

We set the alarm every night when we go to bed. Fine. Lef T leaves fairly early in the a.m. usually, so it's off by the time anyone goes to let the dog out. Yesterday was the last day of school for all the kids in our district. And, it just so happens that Lef T worked a 12 hour day yesterday, so he took the opportunity to sleep in just a little.

Well, at 6:50 a.m. our phone starts ringing, and it's toll free. I was pretty cranked, considering that telemarketers aren't supposed to call before 8 a.m. So, I picked up the phone and listened to see if there were messages. There were, so I called voice mail. No message from today, just a few from yesterday that I'd forgotten to check when I got home from running errands. Anyway... So, suddenly, I hear our dog barking, and it's not her normal, high-pitched "pay attention to me" or, "I need to go pee" bark. So, I look at Lef T, who conveniently NEVER freakin wears pajamas, and I roll my eyes and go down to see what's going on with the dog.

I go downstairs and I am greeted by a strange beeping I've never heard before, and a VERY strong pounding on my front door. Instantly, the light bulb goes on! The alarm had been set off.

So, I am yelling at my kids as I am running to the front door to let the officer know we are fine.
I am standing there in my pjs and apologizing profusely to the fine officer who has come to make sure we are ok. I said, "OH my gosh, I heard the dog barking and couldn't figure out why, and she must have heard you knocking."
His response, " Actually, I have an officer in your back yard."

HOLY CRAP.

So I explained to them that the alarm had been set off by my son w/ autism. I said, "you know, usually it's been turned off by now because my husband and oldest are up and out the door, but yesterday was the last day of school, and my kiddo didn't think the he needed to check the panel before he let the dog out."

So he asked how long we'd had the system, and said that next time they'd go ahead and have us fill out a false alarm report. Which, by the way, they charge for! Which is fine, they should! But that was how this lovely Thursday began for me. Turns out it was the alarm company that called, and it just showed up as a toll free number. LOL Guess we should have answered. We could have saved a couple of officers a trip! UGH!!!!!!!!

And, after they left, the alarm company came over the panel asking for my name and password and asking if everything was ok. I will tell you that thank goodness for a QUICK response from them and our local PD. And thankfully, it was a false alarm, but it's good to know that had it not been, they were here so fast and checking into it. I am pretty darn sure that had I not gotten downstairs when I did, we'd be purchasing a new front door today.

And the other thing that scared me a little was that the dog was barking like mad at the officer in our yard. And it scares me to think what would have happened had she advanced on him. ACK! Thank God this did not go tragic on us, and I have definitely slept a little better at night knowing that the alarm system was in place. I know I will sleep even better now that I've seen it in action!

Here's to happy endings!
W