# Security Alarms



## redshoes (Jan 1, 2013)

How important are security alarms in Spain. Do most people have them?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

redshoes said:


> How important are security alarms in Spain. Do most people have them?


I wouldn't say most people have them, some do, some don't

holiday homes in areas where there are no full time residents are more likely to have them, of course


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

We have one as does everyone round here in this allegedly affluent area. Every house including ours has been robbed....

OK, so we were daft and didn't set the alarm, left keys in the back door, shutters up ...We should have put a Bienvenido notice on the door. But having alarms installed and armed didn't prevent the other break-ins.

We had our business premises alarmed and connected to the [police station in the UK but go figure: the alarm goes, it takes the police at least five minutes to get to the spot, in which time it's easy to grab IT equipment and petty cash and leg it.

Here, if our dog sets off the alarm, around three minutes elapses and we get a call from the Company asking for our code. I reckon it would take another ten minutes minimum before anyone arrived.

Our best deterrent is our very large and fit Rhodesian Ridgeback. When we were burgled we disturbed the thief and he leapt our 2m garden wall like an Olympic athlete with Azor in hot pursuit and fled in a waiting car. They had obviously been watching the house and waiting until we were out with the dog.

We have an alarm but I know what's the best deterrent. When we go out with the dog it's alarm on, metal shutters over rejas firmly down, small things of value hidden. Prevention is better than cure as we learnt the hard way.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Imho it's a given. I wouldn't feel comfortable about living in a house anywhere without a good security alarm. I wouldn't sleep well at all.

When we moved into our first house in 1975, I went there a little earlier to get things sorted out. We had no alarm. In 1975 strangely it didnt seem important.

I went to bed one night and the following morning I went downstairs and the front door was wide open. TV, stereo system & a load of other stuff gone. No carpets on the stairs and bedroom as it was a new house, so I was able to see muddy footmarks all the way up the stairs to (and in to) my bedroom. Someone had been standing over me whilst we were burgled.

That was in 1975. These days its a huge consideration. Does my story answer your question? If I had woken up, I might not be here now.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Stravinsky said:


> Imho it's a given. I wouldn't feel comfortable about living in a house anywhere without a good security alarm. I wouldn't sleep well at all.
> 
> When we moved into our first house in 1975, I went there a little earlier to get things sorted out. We had no alarm. In 1975 strangely it didnt seem important.
> 
> ...


We can't arm our alarm at night as it could easily be set off by Azor prowling or wanting a drink in the night, ditto me as I often go downstairs for a drink and our upstairs loo is opposite the sensor.

Yes, I could only arm selected areas but it's not worth it as we never know when Azor will take it into his head to go into the kitchen for a drink or nibble.
He stays in the house when we are out and is never left in the garden at night. Having 54 kilo of muscular and very protective Rhodesian Ridgeback in your bedroom is like having a loaded pistol in your bedside table drawer.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> We can't arm our alarm at night as it could easily be set off by Azor prowling or wanting a drink in the night, ditto me as I often go downstairs for a drink and our upstairs loo is opposite the sensor.
> 
> Yes, I could only arm selected areas but it's not worth it as we never know when Azor will take it into his head to go into the kitchen for a drink or nibble.
> He stays in the house when we are out and is never left in the garden at night. Having 54 kilo of muscular and very protective Rhodesian Ridgeback in your bedroom is like having a loaded pistol in your bedside table drawer.


Well, we're a fairly secure environment anyway as someone would have to climb a 60 ft wall to reach our balcony, and our front door is a 16 bolt lock door. However, alarm at night is the most important time for me. If the house was burgled in the day then we lose replaceable items. If it is burgled at night, we might lose our lives.

I think your dog would probably do the trick though


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## passiflora (Jun 28, 2012)

Our little finca is in the campo with no near neighbours. Our GSD sleeps in the house at night as do our 2 chihuahuas( which are excellent alarm systems!) All our internal doors except for the sitting room door have locks fitted which we lock every time we leave the house for any length of time after hiding our few valuables.We can also,obviously,lock ourselves in a bedroom at night when home alone. A pain but we figure it will take a potential thief valuable time to break open doors that open inwards thus maybe avoiding total removal of the house contents!! We had thieves a year or so ago and they got the bathroom window reja off but didn't get in as I came home and disturbed them. They took all my little birds and our aged dog presumably because she is a ***** and useful for breeding,. The male GSD they left behind. We got her back a week later after going to gitano camp and asking very nicely if they could inform us if they saw our old,speyed dog who is like a child to us and sure enough, a week after her removal, a car crept slowly down our track one evening and shoved the old girl under the fence. She was thin and dirty with pig muck and her nails and pads were worn raw where she'd obviously been digging and scratching to escape:she was a bit weak in her hindquarters due possibly to them manhandling her. She took a while to recover but is OK. Anyway, I digress-----we curently use Securitas Direct for house alarms but their prices have rocketed and charge us almost 41 euro a month for 2 sensors. I've just had a quote from ADT which is 99 euro for installation then 29 euro a month for 3 sensors. What I wanted to ask was, does anyone here use ADT? If so, are you happy with them .


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I think it depends on the area one lives in, few if any alarms here, many do not lock their doors.


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## mike kelly (Aug 12, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> We have one as does everyone round here in this allegedly affluent area. Every house including ours has been robbed....
> 
> OK, so we were daft and didn't set the alarm, left keys in the back door, shutters up ...We should have put a Bienvenido notice on the door. But having alarms installed and armed didn't prevent the other break-ins.
> 
> ...


Which alarm company would you recommend? I contacted Prosegur and had their consultant / salesman come round to my flat. He was so ill mannered and rude that he put me off dealing with them. I live in Barcelona and have never been in a flat here which was alarmed.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

As Mike has said above, it also depends on what type of property you live in.

It's not common here to alarm flats despite the fact that burglaries are common.

We were burgaled one evening during the local fiestas, I'm sure that we were watched as we went out to spend the evening at the festivities, and when we returned we found that the thieves had climbed up 4 floors to get in through our kitchen window. 
They didn't take much as we didn't have much to take, a mobile phone, laptop and a bit of silver jewelery.

One thing to consider is that most alarms are connected to private companies, not the police. If anyone turns up when the alarm goes off, it will be an over-worked, underpaid guy on nightshift with about as much inclination to risk his life protecting your property as I do...

Some of the more upmarket residencies in Madrid (and probably in Spain in general) have "24 hour guards", I know of at least one case where a garage was cleared of all the motorcycles by a gang in a van that got in. The guard was questioned as to whether he had seen anything to which he replied, yes, I saw them on the CCTV but I though they might be armed so I called the police, by the time they arrived the thieves had gone....
It's difficult to crticise this attitude really, how much would they have to pay you to challenge a gang of thieves half way through their "work"?


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

I'm not saying on open forum what we, or our neighbours, have but we sleep soundly in our beds!


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## mike kelly (Aug 12, 2009)

Overandout said:


> it will be an over-worked, underpaid guy on nightshift with about as much inclination to risk his life protecting your property as I do...


this type of security guard is know as "un pringado muerto de sueño"


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

mike kelly said:


> Which alarm company would you recommend? I contacted Prosegur and had their consultant / salesman come round to my flat. He was so ill mannered and rude that he put me off dealing with them. I live in Barcelona and have never been in a flat here which was alarmed.


We've got Carmen but they may be local to Andalucia. I wouldn't recommend them particularly, or any other company since as I said earlier all the houses round here have alarms yet all have been burgled.


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## titania (Jan 3, 2013)

Is one allowed to trap a house/flat in Spain? It's not allowed in France, and I've been burglared, and sometimes, in my paranoia, I dreamed about using such means. I guess some of my brother's recipes gathered from his African stays might be useful in Spain??? But... allowed or not? What would be the judicial proceedings if you injure a burglar? Would there be a difference if the burglar was bitten by a dog or injured by a trap?


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## redshoes (Jan 1, 2013)

mrypg9 said:


> We have one as does everyone round here in this allegedly affluent area. Every house including ours has been robbed....
> 
> OK, so we were daft and didn't set the alarm, left keys in the back door, shutters up ...We should have put a Bienvenido notice on the door. But having alarms installed and armed didn't prevent the other break-ins.
> 
> ...


My brother in law in England helps runs an electrical company. They were broken into several times, and like you say the burglars were able to leave with a fair amount of stuff before the security company came. Then the company installed an alarm that is a very, very loud noise, so loud that when it goes off, you have to leave because you can't stand it, it hurts your ears and is very painful. They have never lost anything since apparently.


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## redshoes (Jan 1, 2013)

mike kelly said:


> this type of security guard is know as "un pringado muerto de sueño"


When I google translate 'un pringado muerto de sueño' it comes up as 'a loser sleepy', which doesn't make any sense?


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## redshoes (Jan 1, 2013)

baldilocks said:


> I'm not saying on open forum what we, or our neighbours, have but we sleep soundly in our beds!


What do you have, Dormidina?


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

redshoes said:


> When I google translate 'un pringado muerto de sueño' it comes up as 'a loser sleepy', which doesn't make any sense?


I think probably "dead to the world" might be more appropriate.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

redshoes said:


> What do you have, Dormidina?


We sleep soundly until one of our two dogs who has hearing sharper than a bat (he can even hear those flittering about outside), sounds off.


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## redshoes (Jan 1, 2013)

You said 'We have one as does everyone round here in this allegedly affluent area. Every house including ours has been robbed....'
I find that very scary. I'm wondering as a woman alone, is Spain a safe place? I*don't know anybody here in Oslo who has been broken into, although somebody broke into our storage area in the underground garage once. Everybody I know here lives in an apartments, but it might be that people who have houses are more prone to breakins here, I don't know. 
A dog sounds like a good defense. But I don't want a dog, because I have never had a dog and also don't want the responsibility of a dog when I might have to travel away. I like dogs, my grandfather had several on his farm when I was growing up but I just don't feel that a dog is the right thing for me.


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## titania (Jan 3, 2013)

redshoes said:


> You said 'We have one as does everyone round here in this allegedly affluent area. Every house including ours has been robbed....'
> I find that very scary. I'm wondering as a woman alone, is Spain a safe place? .........
> 
> ..........A dog sounds like a good defense. But I don't want a dog, because I have never had a dog and also don't want the responsibility of a dog when I might have to travel away.........


Hi, it certainly is also a concern of mine. The more South in Europe you go, the more houses have bars on their windows, the more house ads tout the advantages of reinforced windows. So of course, one would be led into thinking that such passive defence is warranted by the circumstances of the place. Yet, in my residential area in France, I got burglared, despite having the cops patrol the area about once an hour... I'd asked my workman to put bars on my windows for ages, but he finally did it only a week after the burglary. Huge iron rebar for concrete sunk into the walls, I don't think they'll come again.

Still, that's why I was asking the question above: can one get away with putting traps on a house or flat in Spain????? Like you, I would not have a dog. So, what to do?


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## expatmat (Feb 12, 2013)

In comparison to UK, are there more burglaries? (I know the caveat being area by area, but generally speaking)


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

There should be statistics for crime available on the web somewhere to do a proper study of Spain / UK, but my "gut feeling" is that yes, there are more burglaries and other types of theft in Spain.

There is also the popular cultural view that houses are more likely to be targeted than flats.

I remember chatting with a Spanish colleague who was about to move to the UK and he was asking me about accomodation in cities. I explained that the most popular type would be the terraced houses in the suburbs. I was suprised when he asked if there were no flats as he didn't like the idea of a house. When I asked him why he said it was because "surely the houses get robbed like here is Spain?".

Since I have lived in Spain I have had my flat burgaled and my car stolen, but the counter argument would probably be that living in any EU capital city for 9 years that is fairly likely to happen anyway.

Add to that that crime is on the rise due to the economic situation and I would say that some form of deterent is wise. (I now live on a 6th floor instead of a 3rd floor, that seems to help!)


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

redshoes said:


> You said 'We have one as does everyone round here in this allegedly affluent area. Every house including ours has been robbed....'
> I find that very scary. I'm wondering as a woman alone, is Spain a safe place? I*don't know anybody here in Oslo who has been broken into, although somebody broke into our storage area in the underground garage once. Everybody I know here lives in an apartments, but it might be that people who have houses are more prone to breakins here, I don't know.
> A dog sounds like a good defense. But I don't want a dog, because I have never had a dog and also don't want the responsibility of a dog when I might have to travel away. I like dogs, my grandfather had several on his farm when I was growing up but I just don't feel that a dog is the right thing for me.




There is currently a high level of crime in my part of Spain, principally imo because of the high rate of unemployment but also because of organised gangs, allegedly mainly from Romania. I've no idea how true that is. 

We returned from walking our dog to find the burglar in the house. I think he was more scared of us and our dog, anyway he fled. Most robberies aren't accompanied by violence. There is also a lot of street theft, again rarely violent, much of it 'scam-related', so much so that if I found someone lying lifeless in the road I'd probably stay in my car and call the police rather than attempt first aid.

No way amI blaming the victim for the crime but tbh some British and other immigrants are silly in that they fail to take basic precautions. But then, having spent my career teaching delinquent youths, I have an extremely suspicious and cautious mindset.

We are two 'mature' women living in a big house with some distance between us and our neighbours but no way am I apprehensive. I felt more so on the streets of my little town iWn the UK. When we lived in Prague we were subjected to around five attempted muggings - I say 'attempted' because we fought back, once with a sharp knee to the *******....

We take reasonable precautions but no way will we allow our lives to be ruled by fear of anything....


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## tonyinspain (Jul 18, 2011)

I have to say ive been very lucky touch wood i have never had unwelcome visitors on my farm i do have dogs but i also have one entrance/exit and especially at night its perilous to approach without lights i also us a small internet camera with a passive sensor that emails a photo direct to my iphone on any movement down the track
But in the main i feel the track is the deterent 
My experience is dont get complacent especially on the campo look for signs of change 
Couloured tape , stones piled on top of each other,anything that is unusual that you personally have not had a hand in placing
As this crisis is now hitting hard more of this sort of thing is going to happen and normally its properties that are vacant
Change your routine daily and use security lights lock your doors and if you have a dog inside they are able to hear a lot better than you if it barks investigate the cause 
But dont live in fear burgulry is opportunistic and as long as you change your daily pattern you should be ok


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## redshoes (Jan 1, 2013)

tonyinspain said:


> I have to say ive been very lucky touch wood i have never had unwelcome visitors on my farm i do have dogs but i also have one entrance/exit and especially at night its perilous to approach without lights i also us a small internet camera with a passive sensor that emails a photo direct to my iphone on any movement down the track
> But in the main i feel the track is the deterent
> My experience is dont get complacent especially on the campo look for signs of change
> Couloured tape , stones piled on top of each other,anything that is unusual that you personally have not had a hand in placing
> ...


What is significant about coloured tape and stones pile up on top of each other?


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## tonyinspain (Jul 18, 2011)

redshoes said:


> What is significant about coloured tape and stones pile up on top of each other?


Redshioes thats how gangs mark out their next victim 
What happens is a spotter looks for properties that has easy access , or empty , not lived in and leave marker for the gangs to follow to the property 
If you see anything out of the ordinary around your prop be alert


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## mike kelly (Aug 12, 2009)

*Alarm with Securitas*

Well, I have had a Securitas alarm for about a year now and I must say I'm very happy with it. No one has tried to break into my flat and there have been no false alarms. Securitas also provide an app which allows me to takes photos of the inside of the flat while I am away with my iPad, something I find very reassuring. The alarm can also be switched on and off with the app. I pay 36 euro month and am fine with this.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

mike kelly said:


> Well, I have had a Securitas alarm for about a year now and I must say I'm very happy with it. No one has tried to break into my flat and there have been no false alarms. Securitas also provide an app which allows me to takes photos of the inside of the flat while I am away with my iPad, something I find very reassuring. The alarm can also be switched on and off with the app. I pay 36 euro month and am fine with this.


That sounds much better vfm than we get with our alarm company. I think I'll investigate.
Thanks!


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

mike kelly said:


> Well, I have had a Securitas alarm for about a year now and I must say I'm very happy with it. No one has tried to break into my flat and there have been no false alarms. Securitas also provide an app which allows me to takes photos of the inside of the flat while I am away with my iPad, something I find very reassuring. The alarm can also be switched on and off with the app. I pay 36 euro month and am fine with this.


I am with the same company. I can operate the system anywhere I travel on my smartphone. We have a camera outside as well as inside. Recently we had an intruder on the terrace. The company phoned me immediately and gave a description of the person. It turned out to be a nosy neighbour, but it is very reassuring. I was even sent photos of the person.


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## passiflora (Jun 28, 2012)

We've been with Securitas for about 10 years now-----way back when it was 25 euro a month!. Our finca is fairly isolated with no immediate neighbours although only a few minutes from the village and other houses so the Securitas system is great for us and means peace of mind whenever we go out anywhere. We have no apps and rely on a phone call should our alarm be triggered and there is also a Securitas guard who will come and look around the property should the alarm go off and we are miles away--------better than asking a neighbour to drive over and look in case there is a problem.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

The only problem is the time lapse between the intruder activating the alarm and the guard or police arriving. Time enough to grab stuff and leg it.

This talk of alarm systems has brought back a memory of a few years back....one evening we were up late, celebrating something or other and we'd both been drinking copious amounts of champagne and smoking naughty stuff
At about two in the morning we got a call from the police station...our offices had been broken into and we were asked to go with the keys to meet the police and let them in. Well, no way could either of us drive so we had to ring our.General Manager and ask him to drive me to meet the Old Bill.
To this day I don't know how I managed to stay upright and talk sense.
Our General Manager was not best pleased. .


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## passiflora (Jun 28, 2012)

If we are far away when the alarm goes off,I can phone a friend who lives 2 or 3 minutes away by car and she or her husband/sons go and have a butchers. This has happened once when a gecko triggered the system and we were dining out 40 minutes away. The guardia station is 5 minutes down the road from us as well so we are isolated but not isolated. We also have a surprise or two inside the house which would help delay any burglars!!


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## mike kelly (Aug 12, 2009)

I think the main purpose of an alarm is to make sure that the burglars are not there when you do get back. It hurts to have your stuff stolen but material things can be replaced. Your personal safety is what really counts.


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## passiflora (Jun 28, 2012)

We were burgled one Sunday morning, 6 years ago and they were on the premises when I came home but legged it over the fence and into their car. A reja was off the bathroom window but my arrival stopped them going further. They did however steal all our birds,including a pair with 10 day old chicks plus our old dog. As Mike Kelly says, material goods can be replaced but to lose our old girl we'd had since she was 6 weeks old was horrendous. We spent a week driving about at night to try and hear her barking in a shed somewhere but nothing. Then one week after she'd been taken , we were told of a tiny old pueblo of abandoned houses that had been taken over by gitanos and to try looking there. Armed with a large poster of Caro our Italian Spinone, we went and asked if they saw this dog would they please phone me as she was very old and sterilised so no good for breeding. I was crying and people patted my shoulder and told me not to worry etc. etc. Next day,at 8.30 in the evening, I was in my greenhouse with my German Shepherd when we heard a car go very slowly past the property, the GSD set off running down the land,following the car,barking (something he never does with passing vehicles) and returned a few moments later with Caro Spinone. She had been thrown over the fence at the bottom of our land. She was thin and dirty and her pads and nails worn right down where she had spent her week of confinement digging to escape. It took her a good month to recover but it did shock her. She's pretty doddery now but still enjoying life I think. The GSD was loose with her when the thieves came but didn't appear to have bitten anyone!! He's all bark!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

passiflora said:


> We were burgled one Sunday morning, 6 years ago and they were on the premises when I came home but legged it over the fence and into their car. A reja was off the bathroom window but my arrival stopped them going further. They did however steal all our birds,including a pair with 10 day old chicks plus our old dog. As Mike Kelly says, material goods can be replaced but to lose our old girl we'd had since she was 6 weeks old was horrendous. We spent a week driving about at night to try and hear her barking in a shed somewhere but nothing. Then one week after she'd been taken , we were told of a tiny old pueblo of abandoned houses that had been taken over by gitanos and to try looking there. Armed with a large poster of Caro our Italian Spinone, we went and asked if they saw this dog would they please phone me as she was very old and sterilised so no good for breeding. I was crying and people patted my shoulder and told me not to worry etc. etc. Next day,at 8.30 in the evening, I was in my greenhouse with my German Shepherd when we heard a car go very slowly past the property, the GSD set off running down the land,following the car,barking (something he never does with passing vehicles) and returned a few moments later with Caro Spinone. She had been thrown over the fence at the bottom of our land. She was thin and dirty and her pads and nails worn right down where she had spent her week of confinement digging to escape. It took her a good month to recover but it did shock her. She's pretty doddery now but still enjoying life I think. The GSD was loose with her when the thieves came but didn't appear to have bitten anyone!! He's all bark!



When I started reading post I felt really sad....but was relieved to learn your beloved dog was returned, albeit worse for wear. If we lost either of our dogs to thieves we would never get over it.
Our Ridgeback is the strong and silent type, he rarely barks but I know he would bite. I was relieved that our intruder managed to get over the wall before Azor could get to him. He would have leapt at him, knocked him flat and bitten his arm.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

The least noise sets our two off and I keep telling Rubio (the older and bigger one) that all that noise trying to convince people he is bigger and braver than he is, will do no good at all. Especially when his second reaction is to go up to people to be petted.

We are into a (hopefully short) spell of aerial torpedoes which have both of them terrified - Rubio hides and shakes like a jelly and Scruffy (the one that was shot) just falls apart.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> The least noise sets our two off and I keep telling Rubio (the older and bigger one) that all that noise trying to convince people he is bigger and braver than he is, will do no good at all. Especially when his second reaction is to go up to people to be petted.
> 
> We are into a (hopefully short) spell of aerial torpedoes which have both of them terrified - Rubio hides and shakes like a jelly and Scruffy (the one that was shot) just falls apart.


Since Azor came to live with us, seven years ago, we've had to decline invitations to New Years parties as this gentle giant of a dog is reduced to a quivering jelly by the sound of fireworks. We couldn't go out and leave him alone, it would be cruel.

I miss the parties but love Azor more.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

It's good to see that the police are sometimes successful in catching the perpetrators of these crimes, although rather unnerving that they apparently have all the equipment at their disposal to enable them to circumvent even sophisticated security alarms:-


Desmantelan una banda que hab?a robado en m?s de 20 viviendas de la Costa del Sol. SUR.es


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

When my parents first came to visit us here, my Dad commented, "Aah, it's a high crime area is it?" on seeing the rejas over doors and windows. I explained that quite to the contrary, it was not, because the security grills meant nobody could get in. 

We did, however, get a Prosegur alarm system installed with three sensors and have been extremely pleased with their system and support. It currently costs €60 a month and, touch wood, we have had no trouble in two decades. I think it's worth it for the deterrent alone and additional peace of mind. The alarm gets tested occasionally when a cat, thought to be out, turns out to be in. They are here rapidly and have a set of keys if required to enter in our absence. They call my mobile (or two other number just in case) to let me know what's happening. The alarm sound is deafening. The only houses around here which have been burgled have had no grills where entry has occurred and no alarm.


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