No Respect for OPP

This morning, as I was leaving to go to McDonalds and get my large orange juice and large coffee, I noticed something strange. The gate was opened leading to my carport. Also, the gate beside my side door to my house was opened. This tells me that someone decided to use my yard as a short cut to get to wherever they were going. I initially had a fence put up to not only prevent that from happening, but also so that my dogs could roam free in the yard. I even took a precautionary measure by using small padlocks to lock all three gates to keep the children in the neighborhood from letting my dogs out of the yard. My dogs are small, you see, and they love attention from anyone so naturally they would come out if someone opened the gates. The main gate leading to the carport is normally never locked unless the dogs are outside. The 2 side gates, one on each side of the house, are always kept padlocked. Now, here's my problem. Whoever decided to cut through my yard, left the main gate wide open and managed to open the side gate, even though it had a padlock on it, and of course they left that one opened too. I'm assuming that whoever cut through was either being chased or in a hurry or just ignorant to the fact that the gate was locked for a reason. It's obvious that they had some trouble opening the side gate since it's not very easy to lift the latch with a lock on it. I wonder why they didn't just jump the fence. I guess that was too easy or they wern't in shape for such a strenous move. Now, I'm going to have to have someone come out and take a look at the gates to make sure that nothing is bent or broken and get a better padlock. I guess I'll have to buy some "Keep Out" or "No Tresspassing" signs as well. I never wanted to put up signs like that 'cause it seems so unfriendly. I've always had respect for other people's property. Some people just don't think that way I guess. What upsets me most is that if my dogs had been out in the yard, they'd be gone now. I'm sure the person or persons cutting through wouldn't have let 2 little dogs deter them from entering my yard. I normally bring the dogs inside at dark anyway since there are raccoons and other rodents running around at night. Hopefully, when I get the new locks and post the signs on the fence, people will take note. I know some of you will laugh upon this statement, but I have to say that I kinda feel violated. Maybe I should look into getting a tall privacy fence. Naaaaaaaaa, then I'd feel like I was in a prison. I'll just stick with the chainlink and hope that people will start learning how to respect other people's property. I wonder if this weird start to my day has any bearing on how the rest of my day will play out? I guess I'm gonna find out. And the beat goes on........