Chester

Well, thought I'd tell you all about our 'interesting' morning yesterday with our dog, Chester.

Well....we met the Lenexa police.........AGAIN! (Yes....again.......you see, when we first moved here, the boys were home alone for a few moments, when I ran an errand and was coming right back. Well, they didn't think I was back fast enough and would therefore be late for school, so Nate was trying to call me. Our new area code is 913.......and they were just memorizing my new cellphone number...well, when I got home from taking the boys to school, the police were at my door! I was like....what?! They said they'd gotten a 911 call, but that it was a 'hang up', so they had to come check it out. I was so confused. But, as we talked, we came to the conclusion, and thus later it was confirmed, that one of the boys must have called me and accidentally hit the 1 key twice, thus dialing into the station, and then the call didn't work, so he hung up, and I was home then anyway...........to greet the wondering police officers who asked me all sorts of questions in various ways to I think, make sure I wasn't lying. LOL)

So.........

Yesterday morning was a bit chilly and Brennan went out to start the car and warm it up, so we could take Nate to school first. Bren insists on Chester coming because he likes to 'drop off Nate, too'. (Is this dog spoiled or what?) So, he goes out to start the car and takes Chester out, too, and then comes back in to see if we're ready. Soon, we're all heading out the door, only to realize.........THE CAR DOOR IS LOCKED!!!!!!! OH NO!

So, here the car door is locked, the heat is on full blast (why? I have NO idea....it was chilly, not snowing or freezing out!)and Chester is locked inside! Immediately, I have visions of our dog dying in an overheated car and my kids being traumatized for life! I panicked!

I didn't know what to do! I'd heard police couldn't get into the newer electric-lock cars, so they were out. We only have two sets of keys and Steve had the other one at work! So, I grab the phone book and call the nearest locksmith I could find. Get an answering service that tells me to call this mobile guy. Fine. I call him and he doesn't answer! Ugh! I tried Steve several times....of course, no answer! I called a couple co-workers wives to see if they could call their husbands and tell them to have Steve call me. Did either of them answer? Uh...no! I was crying by this point, Brennan was crying, feeling horrible --and both of us were ready to just break the glass, or at some point, Chester would overheat and die. It wouldn't have been half as bad if the car wasn't running and the heat on high! Ugh! It was a mistake Brennan made and he felt awful. (Later, I told him about the time I locked HIM in the car by mistake, so -- that helped him get over is guilt! lol)

Anyway.......finally, with no other options, I called the police, as a last ditch effort before breaking the window. THANKFULLY, they said that yes, they do open car doors if a child or animal are inside! Thank you, God! The 911 dispatcher said someone would be on their way! :) So - we waited, and waited, and waited ---- for what seemed like an eternity! But, was really only 12 minutes. Oh yeah -- I did call 911 back after 8 minutes to make sure someone was on their way! I mean, we're only about 3 miles from the police station, why does it take 12 minutes? And, why when they finally showed up was their lights and sirens not on? Don't they know this is our DOG....our BABY?! LOL

Well...........thankfully, the two police officers were different than the first trip the police were at our house, and they were very nice. And, started explaining to me how they'd open the door and asking for permission. Both Bren and I were like, "We don't care what you're going to do - just do it!" But, I just said, "Yes, that's fine -- it's either that or we're breaking the window."

So, they used this pretty cool little inflatable thing (think blood pressure cuff-type-thing) to stick between the glass and top of the door and the door slowly separated from the car to where they could place the metal rod in and hit the unlock switch and VOILA.......Chester was free!!!!!!! He was in there about a total of 25 minutes and thankfully was fine. We brought him inside and he lapped up some water and just wagged his tail! :)

I was sooooooooooooooooooooooo thankful! And, Steve was glad we didn't break the glass! And, yes -- we need to figure out another place to put a spare key -- I know, I know! :)

Later we found out that a friend of a friend had something similiar happen, but their CHILD was inside (although the heat wasn't on) and she accidentally locked herself out, after she'd put her child in. She called the police and they told her they don't do that and don't have the equipment, so she had to wait 50 minutes for a locksmith!!!!!!!!!! That was in the neighboring town!!!!!! Ok.....I'm so glad we live where we do and that our police department has that type of equipment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway..........that was quite the start to our day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's pretty sad that the police have been at our house twice in 7 months! And interesting way to begin our journey in a new area! LOL Thankfully, the police are really nice here! :)