The shadowed figures were walking slowly with cautious stealth and talking across the street to each other in an apparently Middle Eastern language sprinkled with English.

One was using his phone as a torch and as the three converged towards the entrance to our driveway and a now discernible slowly moving dark shape, its beam reflected a shimmer of glass or plastic.
Now the exchanges were becoming urgent and still unintelligible until an abrupt exclamation in English fed a sudden apprehension of what was taking place.

"Let's go, give it up.  It's hopeless"
'We can't give it up' replied a more assertive voice, "if we go he can be run over and killed."

As they spoke, the shape moved fully into the rays from the trio of headlights and was revealed to be a large dog, likely a German Shepherd.  I could now see that the reflected glimmer was from an Elizabethan Collar.

Putting aside any conjecture or apprehension concerning the three people, my first concern was for the security of the two cat enclosures down the side of the house, which could be vulnerable to the possible rampages of a hostile or fearful canine.

Quickly throwing on some clothes and shoes and leaving the house lights off, I quietly opened the door and slowly advanced down the steps with the intent and hope of not alarming the dog.

Fool I may be but I knew this was not a time to rush in.

To be continued....