Just like that, except the house was totally empty so the bear was entirely dissapointed -- nothing in any cupboard, nothing in the fridge. It was really obvious that he knew exactly where food ought to be in a human habitation. I suppose he must have done it before. He knew how to open the screen doors to get in and out, too.
The raccoons in that town were really habitual about burgling people's kitchens, though. You had to have bars over your windows if you left them open when not at home, because the raccoons would just pull the screens off. They'd also, pretty much every night, get into the garbage-cans behind a small group of restaurants, throw the good stuff into a heap and sit on the pavement in a circle around the pile, eating. They sit on their butts with their little black human-like feet sticking straight out in front of them. They looked like city-councilmen meeting.
Most of the animals around there did funny human-like things. In the middle of the night you'd see deer and elk walking down the sidewalks in rows or clusters, looking just like the tourists you'd see in the day. The cougars would hide in the lilac bushes and hedges and stare out at passers by. More than one time I'd find myself yelling at children: "STOP! LOOK AT THE LION!" Pretend not to notice a bear, bears are offended if you look directly at them, but look at a mountain lion, it won't jump on you if it knows you know it is there.
Thanks, by the way. Actually, I've had a couple of little articles published in obscure journals and one obscure book. One does not get paid for this sort of thing, though.