Mary Jane Chapa Mendietta’s home was burglarized twice last month. She is pictured with her pet Chihuahua, Cha Cha, beaten up during the second burglary. She encourages residents to take precautionary measures against thieves. (Photo by Gloria Bigger-Cantu). Burglars broke into the home of a Kingsville woman twice, not only stealing thousands of dollars worth of her valuables, but also beating up her small pet Chihuahua.

Both the homeowner and pet still remain traumatized about the damage. She wants to share this information with the public so they can take safety measures and not experience what happened to them.

“Material things are replaceable, but Cha Cha isn’t,” said Mary Jane Chapa Mendietta, discussing her 12-year-old pet that she considers family.

“Now Cha Cha is very jumpy and looks at me when I walk out the door,” Mendietta said Friday. “It looks like she is saying, Mom, don’t leave me.”

The first burglary occurred within a 15-minute span. When Mendietta returned home July 7, she noticed someone had kicked the door open. She called her brother who lives nearby.

They discovered that her laptop computer was missing.

She recalled the second burglary occurred July 14 when she was away from home from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., and Mendietta thinks they moved the window air conditioner unit to break into her home.

“I think they were scoping out my comings and goings,” said Mendietta, a Bealls Department Store employee in Kingsville. She lives in a quiet family neighborhood on the 1300 block of East Alice. Her parents and brother live nearby on the same street. She does not believe they live in her neighborhood. She noticed that afternoon on July 14, the dog had not come out to greet her. So she went to her bedroom and saw everything had been scrambled. “They moved my bed around and pulled out the drawers,” she recalled.

While examining the disarray of the room she noticed droplets of blood tracking the oak floor leading to the kitchen. She called the police and then called her friend.

“When my friend opened the bathroom door, he noticed blood on the rug and the floor,” she recalled. “They kicked Cha Cha around causing her to lose a toenail and cut some of the ear area where they hit her,” Mendietta said. Since then she has nursed Cha Cha back to health but she panics easily.

“I always say that my main man was looking out for me,” said Mendietta, “God was taking care of me.”

The thieves easily stole over $8,000 worth of valuables during both burglaries, according to Mendietta. The first time they stole a lap top computer worth about $550. During the second break-in, they stole two black DVD notebooks worth about $600 and also 11 pieces of jewelry that totaled to about $6,000. One 14 karat gold diamond wide ring with a one and half karat diamond baguettes is valued at $2500. A gold diamond cross pendant and necklace is valued at $900.

The burglars also stole a number of rod and reels that range from Abu Garcia Red Reel & Eske Rod to a Penn 113 Senator Reel.

“The policemen told me some of the rod and reels were very expensive,” she said.

She also had a $40 dollar bottle of perfume stolen. The culprits also raided the refrigerator and stole apples, strawberries, peaches, plums and grapes.

“They also took a box of oatmeal from the refrigerator,” she said.

The police are still investigating the burglaries. Meanwhile, Mendietta had an alarm security system put in after the second burglary. She continues to leave the lights, radio and television on during the day when she goes to work to keep Cha Cha company and more at ease.

She also advises people to keep bushes trimmed around their homes so no one can hide around them.

“Try to keep in touch with your neighbors and pay more attention to your surroundings,” Mendietta advised.