Paws to Remember

To whom it may concern,

Alright, so it's my first post on the class blog and I'd like to make a few points abundantly clear. First off, I think many of the projects I've seen on here are wonderful ideas, and I wish you all the best of luck with them! Secondly, yes, I procrastinated on starting the project. Sorta. Third, I finally came up with an idea that I'm quite excited about!

Well, about an hour ago, I was set on a single idea. I'd thought about it for a couple of days, and it was writing related, so it'd be perfect! ...Or so I thought. In a random burst of fitful indecisiveness, my brain presented me with an entirely different concept. My house has been quiet, empty, and desolate for a few months now, as if as a testament to how bright the presence of my late best friend made my entire world. Following his abrupt death on February 19th, 2010, every little thing my family does has changed drastically. It feels weird. Because every time we leave the house, we expect to say goodbye to him. Because every time we tear open the crackling wrapper on a slice of cheese, we wait for the sound of his excited footsteps upon the kitchen floor. Because every time we return home, we long to be greeted by his happy face and wagging tail. Yeah, my best friend was a dog, but that's not a disparaging thing to say. It was an honor to have been with him for his nine years, and an honor to have had someone so loyal by my side through everything in my life thus far. Being a Siberian Husky and quite healthy despite seizures that were very infrequent and brought on by the stress of travelling by car as far as we know, Bandit's passing at 9 years of age was a bit of a shock. (A Siberian's life span is about 12-19 years, and he was a very playful, active dog. He became ill and seemed to have some kind of stomach pain for about a week before his death, but otherwise displayed no signs of poor health aside from the seizures explained above.)

I never cried so hard as I did when I received the news. I felt guilty, too, as I had been staying at a friends house when it happened. I returned home late at night, and I'll never forget how it felt to walk in the door. Dad had been saying we needed to talk as he drove me home, and refused to speak more on the issue until we were inside. My younger brother was completely silent. And there was something just wrong about the house when I crossed the threshold of the back door. It felt like a void where life had stopped, like a graveyard where no one was welcome. I couldn't place it until I was told to sit in the kitchen, because that's when Dad voiced what my heart must have already known. "Staicee, Bandit passed away." It hurt then, and still hurts now, to know that he's gone. Everyone, in my extended family even, loved him. Every single cousin of mine has a little stuffed animal that they picked out themselves at some point because it was a grey Sibe, and each one of them named it Bandit. Explaining that he's gone when I see them for the first time after in Missouri next month is going to be hard - he always came with us, and now he'll be gone. When I had friends over for my birthday, the twenty-seventh of February, the first thing they asked was "Where's Bandit?".

But the purpose of this post is not to depress you all, it's to explain my project. That doesn't mean what I've written so far is pointless, either. What I want you all to gather from that, is that even though his life was short, he touched and inspired many people. In the same way, but in opposite direction, I want to touch the lives of animals. I know it's not as exciting a project as writing your own music, or as selfless as giving time to people with cancer, or even as useful as learning to cook or getting in shape, but what I want to do is going to help me on a deeply emotional level. I'm not depressed; I got over that with counseling, though this turn of events didn't help as it happened halfway through trying to cross that bridge. So what I want to do is to volunteer at an animal shelter this summer. Petsitting and raising money for animal charities may also be brought in, depending on how much time I have. I'll be documenting my experiences to share with you all. The first step is applying to be a volunteer. Wish me luck! :D

Wrapping this up, I'd just like to restate point number one: I'm impressed with all of the projects you've all chosen to pursue, and I wish you the best of luck. I'll be even more impressed if you manage to stick with it all through the summer, so please keep your posts updated! I'm excited to see these take flight!

Best regards,

Staicee L. Kwiatkowski