During the preparation of the awesome meal mentioned in the previous post we had a fun little interlude with our dog. Scarlett is a funny little critter who has a personality all her own. She is fearless when it comes to most things including people and big dogs, but there are 2 things she fears: heights and smoke.

When the tri-tip in the pan began to smoke, we immediatedly turned on the stove fan and opened the window, but the smoke was insanely thick and billowed throughout the apartment quickly. Scarlett began nervously pacing the floor. When it got pretty bad, we decided to open the front door. I found Scarlett sitting at the door waiting anxiously for me to open it. I could just hear her thoughts, “Come on guys, we should be leaving!”

Once I opened the door she sprinted to the edge of the stairs where she was confronted by her second fear. Would she chance a tumble down the flight of stairs? Maybe not. She returned to the front door, now sitting outside looking in, waiting for us to follow her precautionary lead.

I tried to assure her that everything was okay, but she didn’t move. After a while I picked her up and put her on the couch. She climbed up on the arm of the couch and leaned over the edge so that she could see us in the kitchen. She monitored our saftey for the next 30 minutes as we finished preparing dinner. She finally relaxed when we sat down to eat. Our very own little Smokey the Bear.