ROCHESTER — Mike Thompson awoke around 3 a.m. Monday to the sound of a man having a conversation with his dog.

Moments later, Thompson found himself face to face with a suspected burglar who refused to leave his 18 D’Amours Ave. home, which led Thompson to fire a low warning shot in the direction of the man.

The shot worked and scared the man into running out the home’s front door, but he and girlfriend, Breana Hillsgrove, were rattled by the incident.

“I heard the guy saying, ‘Is this 18? Is this 18?’” said Hillsgrove, who didn’t wake until she heard Thompson yelling at the man to get out of their Gonic home. “He was looking for 18 Kennedy (Ave.), I guess, but it sounded suspicious in general because he came in our side window.”

Rochester police are investigating the attempted break-in and are asking the public for help in identifying or locating the suspect.

No one was injured during the incident.

A K-9 unit was called in to attempt to track the suspect after he fled, but the dog wasn’t able to locate him, according to Capt. Todd Pinkham.

Police did recover a bicycle outside the couple’s home, which Pinkham said will be treated as evidence as it may have been used by the suspect to get there.

The incident happened Monday morning shortly after a separate, unrelated shooting on Maple Street, Pinkham said.

Police and Hillsgrove said the man who broke into 18 D’Amours Ave. gained access through a side window. Hillsgrove said the man took a 5-gallon compost bucket off their home’s porch and used it to boost himself up and through the window.

“He climbed in over the couch pretty quietly, and he sweet-talked our dog,” she said. “Then Mike heard him talking to the dog and he came down with the gun.”

Before the man entered the home, Hillsgrove said, the man allegedly flicked their porch light on and off several times. She said she and Thompson believe it may have been a signal of some kind to someone else in the area.

Hillsgrove said she was “already on edge” before the break-in because a nearby home on Hansonville Road was burglarized on July 14. The suspect or suspects in that incident used a ladder to access a rear second-story window and stole the resident’s belongings, according to Hillsgrove and Pinkham.

“He sweet-talked her dogs, too, and he ransacked her house to no end,” said Hillsgrove. “He stole everything she has, right down to the corn out of her fridge.”

Pinkham said his department is pursuing leads on both the 18 D’Amours Ave. and Hansonville Road incidents. He said it’s too early to say whether or not they could be connected.

“Obviously, we can’t rule that out without knowing who’s involved,” he said.

Police are asking anyone who may have information to call the Rochester Police Department at (603) 330-7128. Tips can be reported anonymously by calling the Rochester Crime Line at (603) 335-6500 or texting to CRIMES (274637) and including TEXT4CASH and the tip in the body of the text. Cash rewards are offered for information leading to an arrest.

Police also encouraged residents to lock their doors and windows and to take other precautions to make it difficult for someone to gain unauthorized entry into their homes.