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by Sandy Sanford (Author), Stanley Silva (Drawings by)
The Real Story of Tyson the Hero
Once upon a time, like many stories begin, except this one is true, a dog went missing.
Her name was Olive. She was loved the way dogs are loved, completely and without conditions, and when she disappeared, her family's whole world shrank down to one question. Where is she?
Two days went by. Two days of calling her name into the dark, of walking the same streets over and over, of knocking on doors and checking under porches and hoping every rustle in the bushes might be her. Grown-ups searched. Neighbors searched. Nobody found her.
Then Tyson and his BFF Sandy happened upon the scene.
Now, Tyson is a mixed terrier, which is a fancy way of saying he is small, scruffy, and absolutely certain he can handle anything. He is not a police dog or a search dog or a dog with a badge and a special vest. Nobody handed him a map. Nobody asked him for help at all. But that is the thing about real heroes. They do not wait to be asked.
Tyson put his nose to the ground. He went where the people had not thought to go, into the woods, past the trees and the tangled brush and the shadows, and there she was. Olive. Frightened and hiding and very much alive.
It took him a few minutes. After two days.
For his heroism, Tyson received awards from the Governor of Rhode Island and the Mayor of East Providence, because heroes are important and should be recognized, no matter how many legs they have.
But Tyson, like most heroes, is shy and unassuming. If you ask him about that day, he changes the subject. He would much rather tell you a good story that makes you laugh than talk about himself. That is just how he is.
So he wrote this one instead.
It is a story for the young, and for the young at heart, and for anyone who has ever felt too small to matter. Because Tyson would like you to know something, and he is too polite to say it directly, so we will say it for him. There is a hero inside every one of us. It does not depend on how big you are, or how strong, or how loud. It depends on showing up when someone needs you.
Sometimes the smallest dog, or the smallest person, can do the very greatest things.
Come along on this wonderful adventure, and meet Tyson.
