A Story for Children About a Brave but Worried Dog Who Heard Scary Sirens

Dedicated to all of the children and all of the pets whose ears – wiggly, floppy, or otherwise – have picked up “the big, very loud but useful noise.”

You are so good. You are strong and you are brave, even when you’re scared. You are loving, and you are very, very loved yourself.

Sofie, also known as Sofalina, Flopie, So-Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum, Sofie-Tofie, Sofie-Bofie, and Sofie-Bofie-Artichokie, is a very good dog with one very pretty white sock on her front-left paw.

She’s a big dog, which is a good thing, because she needs room for all the love in her very big, extra loving heart.

It’s impossible to count all of the special things about Sofie, but she’s most famous for her unusual left ear that she uses as an antenna.

Most of the time, her ears are floppy. But when Sofie hears something interesting, her left ear goes twitch-flop-wiggle, and then stands straight up.

Sofie’s ear tells her so much about what’s going on around her. Which she finds useful because she takes protecting her human and her little brother very seriously.

Sometimes, Sofie’s antenna picks up sounds that she loves, like birds singing, people laughing, and the sound of her human opening the treat cupboard.

When she hears these beautiful sounds, her heart feels light, her tail wags, and she relaxes so much her tongue starts to fall out of her mouth.

But sometimes, she hears sounds that worry her, like the wind, or the garbage trucks, or cats meowing. When she hears these sounds, her heart beats fast, she puts her tail between her legs, and the fur on her back stands up like the spikes of a stegosaurus.

One morning, not too long ago, while Sofie was still snuggled up and sound asleep at the foot of the bed, her ear went twitch-flop-wiggle and woke her up. Suddenly, her ear was pointed straight towards the sky, picking up a sound even more worrisome than a cat meowing. Even more worrisome than the garbage trucks.

The big, very loud noise whirred up and down and up and down.

As the whir grew louder and louder, Sofie was afraid it would never, ever stop. She sat up as straight as she could and listened. The next sound she heard was the sound of her neighbors on the stairs. But the sound wasn’t the usual pitter patter of one or two neighbors leaving the building to go to school or work. It was the sound of a lot of neighbors, and it was more like a pitter patter – pitter patter – thunk – thunk – thunk.

Sofie’s little brother was the next to wake up. Sofie could see that he was scared, too. Sofie’s human, who must have been really tired, was still asleep, so Sofie gave a bark to wake her up.

Her human woke up, leapt out of bed, and grabbed the leashes.

But instead of going for a walk, Sofie’s human took her downstairs to a dark, dusty, damp place that smelled a bit funny, especially to a dog’s cold wet nose.

She decided to take a break from sniffing.

The humans in the room looked worried and sleepy.

Some were still in pajamas. Some were holding mugs.

Sofie’s ear was still up, her tail was still between her legs, and she could feel the fur on her back standing up like stegosaurus spikes.

She did not like this. Not one bit.

After a few minutes, everyone went back home.

But Sofie didn’t feel better.

Her tummy hurt and she didn’t want to eat breakfast. She was afraid to go outside for a walk. And her human looked very, very sad.

Soon after, Sofie’s ear went twitch-flop-wiggle again. The big, very loud noise was back.

The next thing Sofie knew, everyone was back in the unfamiliar, not so nice place, whispering and sounding scared.

Sofie didn’t understand what was happening.

Once everyone was back home again, Sofie watched her human carry all of the chairs from the kitchen table from the apartment to the unfamiliar, not so nice place.

And after the chairs, a bag of snacks and some bottles of water.

Sofie noticed that her brother was hiding under the table, which was easy to do without the chairs.

When Sofie’s ear antenna picked up the big, very loud noise again, and everyone was back in the unfamiliar, not so nice place, Sofie saw that there were a bunch of chairs, including the ones from her kitchen table, set up in a circle. The humans were sitting down, and whispering about things that sounded very, very scary.

Sofie still didn’t want breakfast and she still hadn’t been for a walk. All she wanted was to go home and curl up in her pink bed with the hearts on it that felt like a giant hug.

She still did not like this. Not one bit.

But the longer they were in there, the friendlier people became. Sofie got a visit from a baby, who patted her on the head and squealed.

She also got some high quality pets from some of the children, who smiled at her and told her she was a very good dog.

She liked hearing that, so she sat up tall and proud.

Finally, their human took Sofie and her brother outside. It was a little bit cold, but the sun was shining in the most glorious and golden way, and the leaves on the ground shimmered and sparkled.

Sofie wondered why nobody else was outside, and why they were walking back and forth in front of the building instead of around the block or to the park.

There were friends at the playground that she really wanted to see.

But she knew that her human wanted her to be safe.

And Sofie wanted to be safe.

So she decided the best thing to do was follow her human’s directions.

That afternoon, Sofie curled up in her pink bed with the hearts on it. She had never, ever, felt this sad, but she felt better in her special bed. Her heart slowed down, and after a few minutes, the fur on her back was soft and flat. The stegosaurus spikes were gone.

But the next day, after Sofie had spent more time in the unfamiliar, not so nice place with the circle of chairs, Sofie found herself even sadder.

Her ear antenna picked up on a new, soft but worrisome noise. She went into the bedroom to investigate, and found her human on her bed with her brother in her lap.

They were both crying. Her human was hiding her face in her brother’s fur.

She really did not like this. Not one bit.

Sofie had never seen her human cry before. She’d seen her brother cry, but not like this. She didn’t know what to do, but she knew she wanted to help.

The next time Sofie and her family were in the unfamiliar, not so nice place, Sofie played with the kids and let anyone who was sad hold her paw with the white sock. While they held her paw, Sofie would look into their eyes with all the love she had in her very big, extra loving heart.

Her brother was still spending a lot of time under the kitchen table. Sometimes, Sofie noticed that he would hide his snout under her human’s arm. She wondered if he realized that hiding his snout didn’t make him invisible.

She also noticed that sometimes, people in the unfamiliar, not so nice place hugged each other, and that sometimes grown-ups read stories to the kids while they were waiting to go back upstairs.

That’s when Sofie realized that sometimes, she needed help too.

From then on, when she felt sad or scared, she’d tap on her human’s leg with her white-socked paw.

Her human would take the white-socked paw, hold it tight, and tell Sofie she was a good dog. And then she’d sing one of Sofie’s favorite songs.

But needing help embarrassed Sofie, so she’d look away from her human’s eyes.

Her human told her that was silly, and that right now, everyone was helping each other. In fact, Sofie was a wonderful helper herself.

Sofie spent a lot of time thinking about that.

For days, and weeks, and months Sofie’s ear antenna picked up the big, very loud noise over and over again. Sometimes, the noise was followed by big, loud, booms.

Sofie noticed that the now familiar but not so nice place was filling up with toys, books, cribs, and small mattresses for kids to sleep on. Sofie also noticed that somebody had painted a big heart on the wall with the word “love” right in the middle.

Sofie began to like the now familiar but still not so nice place because she understood that it kept her safe. She also enjoyed being with her new friends.

Sometimes, when her human’s phone made strange noises a few minutes before the big, very loud noise, Sofie would run to the front door and wait for her human to take her and her brother downstairs.

The more she heard the big, very loud noise, she began to realize that it was actually a big, very loud but useful noise. It was a message that told her human to take her to the safest place possible.

She’d whine and beg her human to hurry.

But she knew that her human was doing everything in her power to keep her and her brother as safe and can be.

One night, Sofie’s human’s phone woke everyone up with an unusual, loud shrieky sound that hurt Sofie’s ears. Sofie’s human quickly got dressed and then walked around the apartment looking confused. But it wasn’t until the next day that they ended up back in the familiar, not so nice but safe place.

Something really scary was going on, but Sofie didn’t know what.

For the next twelve days, Sofie, her brother, and her human went up and down and up and down to the familiar, safe place with the nice people. They heard noises boomy enough to make the walls shake. Sofie noticed that a few decorations in their apartment had fallen over and broken.

Sofie made sure her white-socked paw was always available for holding, and was less shy about asking her human and her neighbors to hold her paw when she felt sad or scared.

Sofie’s family didn’t go to the park. They only walked in front of the building.

When they went for walks, Sofie’s family used the back door. But Sofie was afraid to go outside, and when she saw her leash, she’d go to the front door.

The safe place with the nice people was more relaxing than outside.

Sometimes, Sofie heard her human talking to her grand-human on the phone. Sofie loved her grand-human, and liked to put her nose to the phone to say hello.

“Good morning, good morning, Sofie-Tofie! Sofie-Bofie-Artichockie!” her grandhuman would say, and Sofie’s ear would go up. “You are such a good dog. You are strong and brave even when you’re scared. And you are loving and very, very loved yourself.”

When Sofie heard this, she’d open her mouth a little, stick her tongue out a little, and pant. Which was her way of smiling.

Then came the day Sofie’s human announced that today was the day they were finally going to have a real walk. Sofie and her brother were afraid to go out the back door. Their human had to nudge them and assure them that they’d be okay.

Even though they were scared, they went into the park. Sofie walked with one ear up and one ear down, with her tail between her legs. Her brother walked while looking from side to side, freezing when he heard even the tiniest sound. Her human walked with her shoulders tight and her hand around her phone.

“Sometimes,” Sofie thought to herself, “Being brave means doing something you are afraid to do.”

And she felt proud of herself, her brother, and her human.

Every day, the walks became a bit less scary.

Now, Sofie and her family spend a lot of time in the park, where she can show off her new collar with the daisies while she wags her tail.

The best part is, the park is full of new friends from the safe place for Sofie and her brother to play with.

Sometimes, Sofie’s ear antenna picks up the sound of noisy planes in the sky. Sofie looks up, down, and all around to make sure that everyone is safe. But she’s learning that the planes are there to protect her and everyone she loves.

Sometimes, Sofie’s ear antenna picks up a sound that startles her, and Sofie runs to the front door, not sure if she needs to go to the safe place with the nice people.

Sofie knows that she might hear the big, very loud but useful sound again.

And that worries her.

But she still lets herself play, sniff, and have fun.

She still loves hearing the sounds of the birds singing, people laughing, and the sound of her human opening the treat cupboard.

Somehow, even the sounds of cats meowing don’t bother her as much as they once did (but her opinion of the garbage trucks hasn’t changed much).

She’s often a little bit scared. But being scared doesn’t stop her.

Sofie also knows that she has her family, her friends, and her pink bed with the hearts on it to take care of her and help her feel better. And she can always go to the safe place with the nice people.

She’s also working on not being embarrassed when she needs somebody to hold her white-socked paw.

Most importantly, she knows that no matter what happens, three things will always, always be true:

She is such a good dog.

She is strong and brave, even when she’s sad and scared.

She is loving, and she is very, very loved herself.

Resources (Created as part of my volunteer efforts after October 7th):

Download the “I Have Feelings Big and Small” Activity Book

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