Las Vegas Strong – Dog Abby

Dog Abby,

Something really, really bad happened and I don’t know what to do. Mommy is sad, and my big sister is crying a lot. I kind of understand it a little, but it is just too bad for me to believe. We did not have school Monday or Tuesday. When we did go back, my teacher tried to talk to us about it, and a lot of my friends are sad, too.

At church, we did not have Sunday School because my Sunday School teacher was one of the people who got dead. All us kids had to go to the big people’s church. Our pastor prayed for all of the people who died and for the bad man who did it. We lit candles and lots of people cried and hugged each other.

Abby, I am scared a lot. I don’t want my teacher to be dead. I heard Daddy tell Mommy that this bad man had friends. Are they going to come back and hurt more people? How do we stop being sad all of the time?

Bobby in Las Vegas

 

Dear Bobby,

I live very close to where the bad things happened, and I heard the scary noises. Mom stayed up all night with me and she cried a lot, too. I don’t know much about the bad man, only that he will not come back. This is a lot for a human to understand, much less a dog.

I remember when mom first brought home Max and his sister, Maggie. They were tiny kittens who had lost their kitty mom, and they cried a lot. They were scared and — because they cried a lot — I got scared for them. Mom had to feed them both with droppers, and she also had to give them medicine and clean their noses and eyes because they were both really sick. Mom would not let me help, but I would stand by the door and listen. Whenever mom was taking care of Maggie, Max would yell and yell from the crate. He did not like it that Maggie was scared and he wanted to be with her. Later, when Max was more well and he could walk around on his own, mom let me take care of him. Max liked to cuddle up to me and sit quietly next to me. It made him feel better, even when mom was giving Maggie her medicine. Maggie finally got well, too, and then she would sit with us. Just being together made them get well faster. It made us all feel safe and not scared.

I think this is what you will have to do with your mom and dad and sister. I think this is why so many people want to talk about it and be with each other. I am really sorry about your Sunday School teacher. Make sure you talk about her a lot, and if you cry, that is OK.

Mom believes that even if this bad man had friends who helped him and got away, there are more good people than bad, so we should not be afraid all of the time. Instead, we should be together and learn more about how to care for each other so that we don’t have to be afraid.