Little Girl Lost

We were all doing our normal, typically boring, Wednesday evening , getting on with our lives type of things last night when suddenly we hear a blood curdling scream. A very high pitched terrifying scream near the front of the house. A very non-male scream, and it wasn't me. We all run from different areas of the house, meeting in the front entry way, to find a little girl surrounded by my three large dogs, all being bigger than her. I've never seen this girl before, have no idea who she is, guessing her to be around 4 ~ 6 years old. Mark and I are bewildered when Dusty, one of Charlie's friends from across the street who is visiting, explains that this little girl is Alyssa and lives down the street. Dusty tells us that she must have followed him, and often lets herself into peoples houses. He and Charlie tell the little girl that it's okay, the dogs won't hurt her, whereas I tell her (and the boys) that 'NO', it's not okay and that she is to leave my house.
I suppose this is where I should remind y'all that I've stated many times, I do not like little kids. Never have. Thank God for my husband for being such a hands on kind of dad that it helped get my kids to an age where I wasn't tempted to smother them in their sleep.
I tell the boys to help her get back outside so that she doesn't let my dogs out of the house. This is a big problem that we have, and one, *ONE*, of the reasons that I'm so bothered. Charlie's dog, Rocky, which can be seen on my picture page, is a runner. He's a mutt, but we think part whippet, which is a running dog. Even though he's 10 years old, you can not catch this dog. Unfortunately our chocolate lab, Porter, is a follower and Rocky is his biggest buddy. I can't count how many times these dogs have gotten out because of a door not closing properly and how many people have had to drive around for hours at a time trying to find these dogs. Once they were found about 10 miles away in a heavy storm, and Rocky always thinks he has the right of way in any road, which terrifies us.
So, when I'm upset with this child for just walking into my home, one of the reasons is that my dogs could have very easily been let out. Another reason is, what kind of trouble this child could get into walking into the 'wrong' house. Actually, in my mind...any house but her house is the wrong house...but you get my meaning.
I know when my kids were little, one of the biggest lessons to teach them was to not go in anyone's home that you didn't know, and never with out asking me (their parent's) permission first.
Well, the little girl is upset because the dogs scared her (and rightly so), and because I scared her (again...rightly so). I walked off leaving the boys to get her out of the house.
I'm thinking about her just walking in, and how my dogs could be loose, so I go outside to make sure she understands she is to never do this again. When I walk outside, Dusty is holding her and she is in tears. Mark is getting his bike out of the garage to go for a ride, and Dusty tells us that I made her cry. Yeah, well, good.
I call her name, and when she looks at me I tell her "You are to never walk into my house again without knocking". She starts crying harder. I call her name again, and she looks at me as I ask her "Do you understand?" I'm speaking very calmly, not yelling in the slightest. I just want to make sure that I don't have to start worrying about her just walking in again...ever. Dusty, bless his heart, is whispering to her to say 'yes ma'am". I have to tell her again and ask, again, if she understands before she answers me. Mark is laughing at how I've made yet another kid cry (remember I've said before that this is why I only teach high school levels...kids just cry too easy for me).
A little while later Dusty's mom calls me. She's laughing, but she tells me that Alyssa apparently cried for quite awhile, and that our friend and neighbor, Terri, had held the little girl for a long time trying to comfort her. Dusty had told them what happened and Terri was worried that I'd scarred this little girl. Here is my thought, GOOD. If this will keep her from walking into a total strangers home, when no one in her family has any idea of who's home she's disappeared into...it's a GOOD thing. It could, very well, save her life or at the very least keep something tragic from happening to her. Dusty's mom tells me that she does this kind of thing a lot. Has no one talked to her parents? This is an extremely dangerous habit. I'll be going down to talk to her parents today. Haven't met them before, and I'm not a people person, apparently, but I want them to know she is NOT welcomed to do this in my home. And to make them aware that she's not only doing this to her immediate neighbors that she or they know, but to strangers home. If my dogs had attacked her (I mean, her just walking in was enough reason to confuse them and draw their attention, but her screaming in their faces could have had more severe results) it would have been tragic, for all concerned. And of course...my dog's could have gotten out!!