There were sounds on the wheelchair ramp at 3 a.m., but when he did not hear anyone at the door, he fell back asleep.
Father and husband Steve Boulding had thought his teenage son had answered the door or it was just their neighbour.
But the sleeping man’s wife, Lisa Boulding, said the couple was later woken up at 6:30 a.m. by her son, complaining he was cold and the door was wide open.
He told her the cats must have had a field day, because their winter coats were scattered all over and the living room was a mess.
Boulding knew something sounded funny, so she went downstairs and had a look.
It took the family a few moments to realize this was no feline frenzy, - they had been robbed.
Someone had pulled the winter coats off the hooks by the door and the contents of Lisa Boulding’s purse were on the floor.
The hooded sweatshirts which were underneath the winter coats and a leather coat were all missing.
So was Boulding’s walletc ontaining her identification, and a number of DVDs.
In her wallet had been the family’s rent for the month and the money for shopping she was going to do in Prince George the same day.
Only one of Boulding’s three sons was at home the night of the theft, and she was grateful no one had surprised the thief or thieves, but there were some things which were taken which could not be replaced.
A special edition Canuck’s sweatshirt given to her for Christmas by her father in law before he passed away had sentimental value.
The notebooks she kept track of her sons milestones in, which she had in her purse in order to fill out her son’s medical information when he began university, will be of little use to anyone else.
Her original social insurance card she kept with her maiden name on it as a keepsake was gone, and so were her prescription glasses.
These are the things Boulding wants back, because not only do they mean a lot to her and her family, but they are of little use to a thief.
“I just feel kind of abused,” said Boulding, who said when she spent two years in a wheelchair from the spring of 2011 until August of 2013, she and her husband would go through town to minister to people and always opened their home to people in need.
But since her husband has gotten full time work and she is out of her wheelchair and also working again, she said the family has experienced some anger directed at them since they have become busy with work.
“It’s just kind of a kick in the pants,” she said.
Every noise Boulding hears now, she wonders if someone is in the house. The door was not locked the night of the theft, because the lock did not work properly and only her husband is able to lock it.
“It doesn’t feel like home,” she said of being in the home after the theft.
Boulding is working on dealing with her anger, but is asking for understanding from the community.
She said her hope for the incident is to have the person or persons who took items from her house to return the ones which are sentimental to her, no questions asked.
As for the police investigation, ideally she would like to see whoever did it serve community hours if it was a one-time mistake or receive treatment if they are a repeat offender or offenders with a substance abuse problem.