On Sept. 15, I was spending a leisurely morning at home in a neighborhood near Wilshire Heights. Nothing much going on except for the dog next door barking at squirrels.

That and a kick-in-the-door burglary.

The folks next door normally have one of their vehicles in the driveway, but this particular morning, they happened to go in separate directions for an hour or two. That unusually empty driveway beckoned, and it took only that long for someone in the alley to vault the hurricane fence (no gate), kick in the back door and wreck the house.

He or they stole mostly electronics, one a video game console worth $1,500. In the high-speed search for cash or jewelry, the bed- and living rooms were literally trashed.

Now, in spite of "Beware of the Dog" signs, their big, smart bruiser of a canine is pretty much of a wriggling, wagging, friendly doofus. The intruder may have fed him treats or just worked around him.