Someone got into our house…dogs were scared but didn’t bark…they stayed in the bathroom for an hour?

UPDATE: We found out they were coming in through the old milk door by the back door.

I live with my two sisters, and we rent a house. We have two big dogs. The night this happened, I went out with friends around 8 PM. One of my sisters, who lives downstairs, was home getting ready for bed. My other sister came home at 11 PM and texted me to ask who was at the house. She said someone was in the bathroom with the shower running.

When I left earlier, my bedroom door was shut, and so was the door to the bathroom connected to my room. When my sister came home, she noticed my door was slightly open, but no one was inside. The bathroom door was closed, though. She said the dogs were acting strange. My dog, who usually loves my room, wouldn’t go near it and stayed with her instead. She eventually woke up my other sister downstairs and asked if anyone was home, but she said no.

My sister thought maybe it was one of my friends. She wanted to knock and offer a towel but decided not to because it felt weird. The person in the bathroom stayed silent, turned on the fan after shutting off the shower, and never came out. My sister fell asleep without checking again.

I got home at 2 AM, and my bedroom door was open. The bathroom door was still shut, the fan and light were on, and the door leading to my room was now open. It freaked me out. The next morning, we pieced things together and realized someone had been in the house.

Other weird things:

  • Small items like shoes, a bra, and some money have gone missing since we moved in.
  • We once found an earring near the back door that didn’t belong to any of us.
  • The back door has a keypad lock, so it’s possible someone knows the code.
  • We rarely have people over and have a small circle of friends. None of us gave out the code.

We’ve now disabled the keypad, changed the locks, and are getting cameras. Both neighbors’ cameras were off that night. Does anyone have ideas about what’s going on or who this could be? Any tips are welcome.

@Matias
This is so concerning. If this story is real, cameras and better security should’ve been the first step.

@Matias
Telling them to check who’s in the bathroom is bad advice. That could’ve gotten them hurt or worse. They’re asking how to prevent this from happening again.

@Matias
My sister is only 5’1" and small. I’m glad she didn’t go check because who knows what could’ve happened. Her staying in her room was safer in the moment.

@Matias
I came here to get advice because this situation was so bizarre. You just came here to insult me? If you’re only here to be mean, maybe don’t bother commenting next time.

This is so hard to read. Could you use some spacing or paragraphs next time?

Did the intruder steal your enter key too?

This sounds like someone is secretly living in your attic or crawl space.

Ariella said:
This sounds like someone is secretly living in your attic or crawl space.

Or it could be someone you know—someone familiar with your dogs, routine, and house layout.

Ariella said:
This sounds like someone is secretly living in your attic or crawl space.

Given the missing items, it might even be a woman. Check for AirTags in your cars or personal items, just in case.

You already know the situation isn’t safe. Start by getting cameras to see who’s doing this. Once you catch them, you might want to move out. Untrained dogs aren’t enough to protect you. Get a proper security system. Change your locks, and if the keypad is still there, reset the code.

Do you think it could be someone you know? Like a former friend, ex, or even the landlord?

@DolphGabbana
Thank you for the advice. We don’t bring many people over, and most of our friends are women. We’re wondering if it’s connected to something from when our mom lived here, but she moved out months ago, so it’s confusing.

This whole situation is just a huge mess.

Why do usernames always have “-ad” in them? Is that just this forum’s default suggestion?

Sergio said:
Why do usernames always have “-ad” in them? Is that just this forum’s default suggestion?

Yeah, it’s an auto-generated suggestion from this forum. People don’t realize they can choose their own, so they stick with it.

@ShadowSherpa
That makes sense, but I still find it really annoying. Thanks for explaining.

You might want to consider getting some small terriers. They’re great at alerting you to any noise or movement.