Mason

The kitchen trash was knocked over.

A chair was on its side.

There were hoof marks on the tile.

Real marks.

Dirt and scratches.

One of the blinds in the living room was torn down.

There was a smear of blood on the hallway wall, but not much.

The deputies found Duke hiding behind the couch with a cut near his ear.

Roscoe was in the laundry room, shaking so badly he couldn't stand.

Both dogs lived.

Outside, the deputies found tracks in the dust around the house.

Deer tracks.

A lot of them.

They circled the back porch, the side windows, the bedroom window, then went out toward the dry wash.

One deputy followed them with a flashlight for maybe 30 yards before stopping.

I watched him from the porch.

He stood there for a long time, then came back and didn't say much.

They treated it like an animal break-in at first, because what else could they do?

One deputy said a deer might have gotten trapped in the yard, panicked, forced the door, and entered the house.

I asked him how a deer turned the door knob.