Creepy...

RoyalRaccoon · January 2011

So I took my two male dogs out for their normal daily walk, but something creepy happened. My family lives in a housing tract, and I normally walk my dogs along the big outside circle, but we live on a cul-de-sac on the inside circle. Well, towards the end of the walk I normally have to cross the street twice to get back onto the inside circle to finish my walk home. Anyways, so I'm approaching the area where I cross twice, and I notice a van pull up at the stop sign ahead. I keep walking, but think it's weird that they are just sitting there, when they have plenty of time to go before I need to cross. I make the first cross just fine, which is parallel to their vehicle, but notice that they are totally halfway over the white line, so I can't safely make the next cross without going behind their vehicle, and it's weird that they are STILL sitting there. So, thinking they must be distracted or thinking I was going to walk in front of them, I walk behind their vehicle, and hope the leave, but a woman leans out the window after I get across the street and says "How much for dogs?" I turned my head, and said "They are not for sale." The lady pauses, and then says "How much pay for dogs?" I didn't understand that at first. I thought maybe she was asking how much it is to get the dogs spayed, so I said "I don't understand." Once again she asked "How much pay for dogs?" and I figured she was asking how much they were in bad English, so I answered "They aren't for sale. They are pets." The lady stared at me for about 20 seconds and then said "Okay, thank you." I walked home quickly, and out of fear they might be the kind of people to snatch dogs from backyards I made sure they didn't follow. I told my mother what happened, and she got scared, because the economy has caused a lot of people in the area to loose their homes, which can, and has attracted bad people trying to strip the vacant homes. My mother thinks they may have thought I was a little kid, which means I would be an easy target to be kidnapped, or have my dogs stolen. Whatever it was, harmless or not, it was not something normal at all, so now I'm going to see about buying a whistle and pepper spray, and my mother wants me to write down the license plate of the van if I ever see it again, so that if something happens, we can contact he police. What do you guys think? Is it weird? I mean, it seems that way to me. What would make someone assume a person walking dogs planned to sell them? Normally you walk pets.

SC`s Stars II · January 2011

That is overly creppy *shudders* If you happen to see the van again, get the plate number. I would consider that suspicious behavior that can be reported. What creeps me out more is that they were very "open" about asking, almost giving themselves away. Don't hesitate to report that, that situation could put a lot of kids and/or pets in danger.

NickelbackLuver · January 2011

That is incredibly weird o.o Maybe they were trying to figure out how much YOU paid to buy them. They could have been trying to figure out if you had a lot of money or something. That was the first impression I got reading that. That is super creepy though DDD: Yeesh. Woulda been ok if they just thought your dogs were pretty and asked a general question like "What breed is that?" or something casual like that because they were interested in the breed or something. But asking that? And acting that way about it? No. I don't find that normal at all o.o Hopefully they never go near you again though

Alabama · January 2011

To be honest, I would have already called the police. It bears watching and even if the police are more active in the area for a day or two, if they do have bad ideas, it might be enough to scare them away. A strange van who asks odd questions of a girl by herself is beyond strange. I would not have crossed at that point, even if it meant I had to walk longer, and especially not behind the van where if they were going to kidnap you, they could have opened the back doors. Yes, I am very suspicious of people

NickelbackLuver · January 2011

Alabama wrote:

To be honest, I would have already called the police. It bears watching and even if the police are more active in the area for a day or two, if they do have bad ideas, it might be enough to scare them away. A strange van who asks odd questions of a girl by herself is beyond strange. I would not have crossed at that point, even if it meant I had to walk longer, and especially not behind the van where if they were going to kidnap you, they could have opened the back doors. Yes, I am very suspicious of people

Yeah. We had a van driving out in our field a few years back. It's state property, but it was -really- bizarre. My dad was with me, but they were eying my friend and I. I'm really glad my dad (and dogs) were there. It wasn't right at all. We got the license and stuff that first time. Strange people in the world, I don't have a bit of trust for anyone unless I know them for a -really- long time. I probably wouldn't have went anywhere near the van. I'm so paranoid xD

iluvdogs111 · January 2011

That is creepy. You might want to call the police, just in case. Normally people don't sit in a van staring at you, then ask if they can buy your dogs. :shock: Whatever you do, don't let the dogs out of your sight when your outside!

RoyalRaccoon · January 2011

I'm glad I'm not the only person that thinks it was weird. I don't trust people at all, so when people ask me things I get freaked out, and can't always tell if that's a normal reaction, or an over reaction. Nonetheless, my mother and I bought pepper spray that I can carry when I walk. We also drove around the neighborhood to see if the van was parked in a driveway or something, because then we would know they live in the area, and it would be less creepy, but we didn't see it. I'm not going to report it to the police now, but if I ever see it again I'll be getting the plate number and immediately reporting it to the police as something suspicious.

Nickelback__Luver wrote:

That is incredibly weird o.o Maybe they were trying to figure out how much YOU paid to buy them. They could have been trying to figure out if you had a lot of money or something. That was the first impression I got reading that. That is super creepy though DDD: Yeesh. Woulda been ok if they just thought your dogs were pretty and asked a general question like "What breed is that?" or something casual like that because they were interested in the breed or something. But asking that? And acting that way about it? No. I don't find that normal at all o.o Hopefully they never go near you again though

They didn't seem to speak very good English(Spanish speakers most likely), which isn't uncommon in Southern California, but it just didn't seem like they were asking how much I paid for them. It really seemed like they were asking to buy the dogs. Nonetheless, you bring up a good points that are just as creepy. I've had people ask the normal questions like "What's it's name?" or "Is it a boy or girl?" I've had people say they dogs are cute to, but asking about price is just totally weird. I'm glad you agree.

Cybergirl · January 2011

That is odd... I wouldve called someone before I attempted to walk past the van, because I figure people wont try and take me if Im on the phone xD Seriously though, thats weird. Id be freaked out too.

RoyalRaccoon · January 2011

Sybhat3 wrote:

That is odd... I wouldve called someone before I attempted to walk past the van, because I figure people wont try and take me if Im on the phone xD Seriously though, thats weird. Id be freaked out too.

Unfortunately I don't have a phone. Sometimes I borrow my mother's, which had me thinking how useful the camera on it would have been when the incident happened. Anyways, today's walk went okay. I took my pepper spray, a pencil, and a piece of paper in case I ran into that van again, but thankfully I didn't. I looked down all the streets and cul-de-sacs that I see on my walk, and didn't see the van parked anywhere, but there is one more street/cul-de-sac where it could possibly be IF they live in the area; however, I'm not going to purposely go down there, and definitely not by myself in case they do live down there. Overall it did shake me up a bit. I keep thinking about someone my mother used to work with years ago. They had their puppy stolen right out of their backyard when it was out to potty, and they never got it back. Whoever stole it had to live near them, and see the puppy, which makes the story more disturbing. Every time my dogs bark, I get up to peer out the window to see where they are, and what they are barking at. So far they've just been barking at the people behind us, who for some reason stuck their Christmas tree in the backyard. lol.

Mileysmybaby · January 2011

Wow thats really weird!

ChibiWerewolf · January 2011

That's definitely something to be concerned about. Some people let their dogs walk around in the front yard by themselves, which I have never considered safe. It's always better to be safe than sorry, I think pepper spray and a whistle would be an excellent idea, especially if there are people like that around where you live. I know for a fact if I was walking my little woofers and somebody tried to snatch them up I'd probably do so much damage to them I'd look like the bad guy. ):< Make sure not to wonder into any suspicious areas, Prince.

Oh! And I do what Syb does, xD I pretend to talk on the phone if someone suspicious is by me. I feel like theirs a less chance of anything happening if they think someone can hear me. I do it when my phone is dead too. xD

Celia_1234321 · January 2011

Chibi Werewolf wrote:

 Oh! And I do what Syb does, xD I pretend to talk on the phone if someone suspicious is by me. I feel like theirs a less chance of anything happening if they think someone can hear me. I do it when my phone is dead too. xD

If im walking alone anywhere i always call someone and talk to them, i makes me feel safer.

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