Listen to your pet!

Just the other day, late in the evening, my dog Buddy woofed and pointed to the back ... something was up. I looked out the kitchen window and saw flames in the alley. A fire! A quick investigation showed that the neighbors dumpster was on fire. Immediately I called 911 and in a few minutes the firetruck arrived. Fortunately the fire was contained by the dumpster. The nearby garage had some paint melt, but it did not catch on fire. Nevertheless, Buddy was a hero at my house. He sensed the fire first. He let me know something was not right. I was proud, grateful and comforted by the fact that my dog could sense things that I didn't and he would let me know when something was wrong.

Buddy is not alone in this special talent. A friend whose home was seriously damaged by a devastating fire got her first warning from her pet bird. The house was damaged, precious things were lost, but the humans and the animals were all alright, and that's what matters.

What to do when the Mall is worn out

On a recent trip to Denver we went to meet a friend as he got off of work. We parked near his office and went in through a back entrance from the parking garage. After touring the office we went out the front and on to an intriguing street of shops, restaurants, offices and places to live. We browsed through books and played catch with the dog in a design oriented store store and left with a fun book of obscure postcards. We then went around the corner to gaze in the window of the shop that our Christmas presents came from. Across the street, were attractive rowhouses we then went to eat sushi in a lovely restaurant next to an open courtyard. On our way back to the care we grabbed a flyer from the info box of an innovative museum/theater called The Lab.

Apparently that part of Lakewood Colorado had been the home of a Mall. I really know nothing about it other than the mall is no longer there. Replaced by this New Urbanism style development called Belmar.
It was a walkable and attractive place to work, live, shop, eat or just to visit.