Tales From the Front: Canine Crisis During Wood Floor Finishing

Industry veteran Tony Ziola recalls a close call that happened in his own Chicago home while he was testing application of conversion varnish finish. One afternoon his family had left the house, so he seized the opportunity to practice. He had applied the finish and was inspecting his work when he remembered something important he had forgotten to address before beginning the job. It wasn't a pilot light or proper ventilation, but rather the family dog, who had been resting all the while on the main level, a mere five steps down from the living room in Ziola's split-level home. When Ziola found his black Lab, she was passed out. "I said to myself, 'Holy crap—I killed the dog!'" Ziola recalls. He immediately picked her up and rushed her outside. Luckily, after a few seconds in the fresh air, she came to, and Ziola had averted a second crisis: "I thought I was going to have to give her mouth-to-mouth!" Of course, that crisis would have paled in comparison to telling his family that he killed their beloved family pet because he was testing wood floor finish.