She had been checking the equipment, neatly packed into a new bag, shortly beforehand.

The car was parked in the carport.

Her hairdressing equipment went missing when she went inside her house for a few moments.

She did not think she would need to lock her car during the brief time she would be away.

“All of a sudden the dog was carrying on, but I didn’t know why,” she said.

“I didn’t think any more of it.”

Ms McIntyre-Wooster has hearing diffi culties and wears a cochlear implant.

The self-employed hairdresser noticed the bag and all of her gear was gone when she went back outside to prepare for a vocational seminar in Nhill.

“The boot was empty,” Ms McIntyre-Wooster said.

For a while, she could not believe it had been taken. 

“I went through the whole house looking for it,” she said.

Spooked, she reported the bag and its contents missing to Horsham police.

“The total cost to replace the bag and what was in it is going to be ridiculous,” she said.

Items included a straightener worth more than $300, a blow drier, hair clippers and brushes.

“There were three pairs of scissors too – one was worth about $800,” Ms McIntyre-Wooster said.

“People don’t understand, they’re not cheap.

“None of the things that were taken were things you could just go out and buy.”

She felt frustrated and frightened by the incident.

“Someone must have been watching,” she said.

“I think I need a fence now.”

Horsham police are investigating.