If Heather is fired from her job, gets cut off in traffic, and loses her cell phone when she drops her purse near a street grate, and then goes home and kicks her poodle when it greets her at the door, Heather is exhibiting the defense mechanism of sublimation.

Heather's behavior is not an example of sublimation, which is a defense mechanism where a person channels their negative emotions into a socially acceptable activity. Kicking a poodle is not socially acceptable behavior and does not channel her negative emotions in a healthy way. Heather may be exhibiting displacement, which is a defense mechanism where a person takes out their negative emotions on a less threatening target.