By LEAH WEATHERSBY

A Discriminating Burglar:

On Sunday, Feb. 17, a woman in her 40s returned to her Ravenna home just before midnight to find several of her kitchen cabinets ajar. She also thought she heard a noise from the other room and immediately called 911 and left the house, fearing burglars might still be inside. Police searched the premises and found no one. However, when the woman later walked through her home with officers she noticed that several items were disturbed or missing. While the the thief or thieves got away with only $20 in cash, they did abscond with several bottles of wine and port, one of which was valued at $45.

"The Big Dog" In Greenwood:

On Saturday, Feb. 16 at about 2 a.m., a man in his early 20s was in the men's room of a Greenwood tavern when he was confronted by two other young men. One of the suspects, described as weighing between 180 and 225 pounds and sporting a goatee, shouted at the man, saying "I'm the big dog here!"

The goateed suspect then approached the hapless men's room user and asked, "you think you're the big dog?" The suspect then told his associate to get the man's friends out of the restroom and punched the man in face.

The man responded by placing his attacker in a wrestling hold on the floor, but the goateed suspect's accomplice returned and started hitting the man with a belt. The first suspect stood up and stabbed the man in the stomach with a black-handled knife. He and the other suspect then fled the scene.

Despite his wound, the man tried to chase his attackers but soon lost sight of them. Police brought in a K-9 unit to help locate the "big dog," but the track dead-ended at a nearby residence. The couple inside acknowledged that they had two teenage sons, but said one was at work and the other was in bed, asleep.

U-District Stabbing:

At about 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15, a young couple was walking to a University District pizzeria for dinner when they were accosted by a young woman. The woman started to talk to them but the couple tried to walk away. The woman then pulled out a knife and tried to stab the wife. The wife was able to push her attacker away, but in so doing she sustained a four-inch laceration on the right side of her stomach. This was particularly worrying because the wife was seven and a half months pregnant.

The wife ran into the pizzeria where the manager quickly called the police. Meanwhile, the husband grabbed the woman suspect's arm and tried to detain her, but she was able to get free and run off. Police later caught up to the suspect and found the knife hidden in the crotch of her pants.

The wife was rushed to the University of Washington hospital for emergency care.

Bad Example, Mom:

On Friday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m., police were dispatched to a North Seattle day care to pick up an unclaimed child. The 8-year-old girl was supposed to retrieved by 6 p.m., when the day care closed, however, no one came. The staff waited for an hour and half and tried all of the family's emergency numbers without success - they finally called 911.

The police picked up the girl, but were equally unsuccessful in reaching her family. Finally, a sergeant made one last trip to the tyke's house and luckily, found the child's aunt there looking for her niece. Apparently, the girl's mother had been arrested earlier that day for shoplifting, explaining why she had been incommunicado.

Another Reason To Throw Out That Tree:

On Tuesday, Feb. 12 at about 12:30 a.m., a North Beach man was awakened by a bright light coming through his front window. He got up to look out and saw a Christmas tree burning in the street. He thought the tree had come from his neighbor's house as he had seen one set out for trash pick-up earlier (it was subsequently removed). The man later told police he didn't think much about the fire at the time. Assuming is was just some childish mischief, and not seeing anything nearby that could be readily ignited, he decided not to call it in. Apparently one of the man's neighbors was concerned enough about the mysterious blaze to call police, because they showed up later that morning to take statements. However, the person who made the report could not be found.