Pet Safety and Your Fireplace

My dog Sparky. Okay! I never had a dog named Sparky but just imagine the irony of it all. It’s winter and the whole family likes to sit in the living room around a glowing fire. The kids have had Sparky since he was a puppy. Sparky likes to play ball in the house with the kids. They throw it to each other and play monkey (in this case dog) in the middle. The family is familiar with fireplace safety but when the fire is ablaze, sometimes Dad moves the screen for better effect. On just such a night a missed catch bounces into the fireplace and, you guessed it, Sparky is lightly toasted. After we stop him from running in circles, we extinguish the embers in his hair with a damp towel and he removes himself to a safe distance from the fireplace.
Outside we have a really awesome fire pit Real logs burn for hours as we sit around and enjoy the outdoors. The night is crisp and clear, enhancing the flavours of all our food and drink. It’s a perfect night. Sparky is laying at our feet dozing and perfectly content. Suddenly Dad throws him a scrap and yells Get It Boy! Sparky lunges at the treat and closes in on the fire pit, but he plants both front paws and stops dead in his tracks. Sparky moves to a safe distance and enjoys his treat. Lesson learned.
Pets are very aware of their surroundings. Except for a very unfortunate circumstance, they will respect sources of heat and flame.