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GILLIAN LORD: How Sophie from Romania gave us all hope

The story of Sophie from Romania is the good news we all need.
The story of Sophie from Romania is the good news we all need.

There is a reason to be cheerful. Among the war, suffering, greed, corruption, poverty and the erosion of kindness, there is something to make us smile.

Believe me, I keep appraised of events in the UK and the wider world. Daily news is relentlessly depressing. So many of us feel powerless.

But an animal person can’t go wrong with happy animal stories. And no, not just cute cats and dogs on social media (although who can scroll past cheesy Charlie the Golden, or Andrew Cotter’s Olive and Mabel).

Happy endings

Tales of happy endings for defenceless creatures are especially gladdening.

And so I follow pages like Kim’s Home For Elderly Abused Dogs. I’ll watch the endless stories on social media of animals finding happiness after being so neglected you can’t believe they are alive.

The various stages of Sophie from Romania in her new life.

Then Sophie of Romania popped up. In the hellstorm of Twitter where I lurk and say nothing, there she was.

It’s such a cheering tale.

Retired BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones and his wife, University of Cambridge economics professor Diane Coyle, adopted a rescue dog from Romania.

She arrived, terrified, just before Christmas.

No reason to trust

Sophie had never been in a house before. She had little reason to trust people and every reason to fear them.

And here she was, at the mercy of two new human beings after travelling three days in a van to an unknown fate.

Sophie with her new owner shortly after arriving from Romania.
A Tweet which shows Sophie with her new owner shortly after arriving from Romania.

She did the logical thing she could do to protect herself. She hid. Behind the sofa. And there she stayed.

Both Diane and Rory began to share her progress on social media, #sophiefromromania.

It captured everyone’s imagination. Here was a simple story of cruelty, neglect, hope and salvation we could all get in on.

At first, Sophie emerged only to eat food placed close to her lair. Sometimes only when people were in bed, eating in the safety of darkness.

Slowly, very slowly, she grew a bit bolder.

She started to peep out

We watched, breathless, as she cautiously peeked out from behind the sofa. For days and days she was too timid to come too far, and we cheered every tiny step.

She caught people’s attention far beyond our borders.

Soon, Sophie was making news in Italy, in France, and of course she got on to the BBC. She’s just been on TV in Australia too.

Popping her head out from behind her safe spot.

She has became a simple symbol of hope for 2023, a good news story that gives us all something to believe in.

In the beginning advice poured in. People shared pictures and videos of their own terrified rescue dogs when they first got them.

A wee white dog from Bulgaria that just shook with terror, one of so many heartbroken animals who had lived in fear and dread.

But those owners also shared pictures of those same dogs today; healthy, happy, confident, having the time of their lives.

Then she came out

And then, a few days ago, Sophie actually came out from behind the sofa. Properly out. She allowed Diane Coyle to cuddle her. A while later she went into the garden.

Then she discovered the kitchen. She’s had a few scares from loud noises, but she’s still making strides.

Sophie venturing out from behind the sofa.
Sophie venturing out from behind the sofa.

Carefully growing in confidence, Sophie is starting to trust life again. Cautiously, but she is.

All our hopes are with this terrified wee dog.

Here’s something we can believe in, our own hopes are unlikely to be dashed. Rory and Diane are caring, understanding and loving. It looks like Sophie is going to be just fine.

The state of the world…

So, I could talk about the appalling, grinding war in Ukraine, about the desperate scramble for survival of refugees fleeing from war and persecution in terrible places on earth.

I could rail against the cynical erosion of civil liberties, or the ongoing crisis in the NHS, a victim of cynical neo-liberal ideology. I could talk about government that works for itself, against the people.

I could talk about ongoing strikes, last resort measures from dedicated workers who literally can’t afford to live on what they earn.

I could mention the latest figures from Oxfam’s International’s Survival of the Richest study, which show the richest 1% in the UK are worth more than 70% of the rest of us – that’s a combined £2.8 trillion in case you were wondering.

Or Sophie…

Or, I could tell you about Sophie from Romania. It’s simple, happy and whole. Something we can all cheer about, even while the world around us is full of heartbreak.

Sophie interacting with hew owner.
Sophie interacting with hew owner.

Sophie is an antidote to crisis fatigue.

A balm for our anger, powerlessness and fear at the inhumane crises imposed upon us, at global warming, at self-interested power and money-grabbing, at the erosion of dignity and hope.

See, Sophie from Romania is coming out from behind the sofa.

She’s even given her human mum a kiss.

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