CHAPTER 121 – Where There’s Smoke
It was a warm summer evening. The windows were open to let the evening air in to cool down the house from the heat of the day. Outside, crickets chirped. A thunderstorm had passed through the area recently, so the air was a bit humid.
Dad was laying on the couch looking at his i-Pad when suddenly, he heard a thump. He looked across the floor. There sat Abigail in the middle of the floor, bolt upright, ears straight up and swiveling, nose twitching, and every muscle in her body tensed. THUMP! She slapped the floor again with both back feet.
“What’s the matter, baby?” asked Dad. “Did you hear something? Did you see something?”
Abigail thought, “No, Dad! Can’t you smell it?”
Abigail was facing the screen door, so Dad went over to look outside. As he got closer to the door, he smelled it. It was smoke! From a fire.
“Oh, so that’s what’s upsetting you,” said Dad. He stepped outside. The air was heavy with smoke from the wildfires that had been started by lightning strikes. Although the fires were many miles away, the wind had shifted and now the smoke was blowing into their area.
“OK, time to close up the house,” announced Dad. He went around and closed all the windows and doors so no more smoke would enter. He turned on the air purifiers to clean the air inside the house.
By the time he was done, Abigail was back in her spot. Dad sat down next to her and gave her a little pet to calm her down. “Don’t worry, sweetie. The fire isn’t near us. We’re safe. And Dad is here. You know Dad will always take care of you. Your emergency kit is ready to go, with hay, food pellets, some bottled water and a bowl, fleece, a litter box, your carrier, and some treats. There’s an ex-pen in the garage next to the car.”
Dad gave her a pet and continued talking to her in a soothing voice, “Don’t worry sweetheart. Everything is fine.” Abigail relaxed a bit and went from red alert to yellow alert. “I’m glad you’re here and you have a plan!” she thought.
Abigail goes on red alert when she smells smoke.
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