I usually look forward to collecting my thoughts for...

...a grand yearly recap of the adventures I've had on this site in the past year, but man 2020 wrecked my shit. Honestly, pretty shit year guys, ****ing abysmal at times. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of positive stuff, joy and fun to be had, ADVENT was pretty cool, but I'm simultaneously too busy and too far from the correct mindset to go back and recount the days and provide detailed descriptions and links. But I hope that I CAN and DO make a post real soon.

For now(I really don't like doing this sort of thing), I need some help. I have a beautiful dog named Bandit, he is the absolute love of my life and my favorite lil' guy in the world. He outranks the closest of friends and if anything were to happen to him I'd murder everyone involved, but I can't murder cancer. Luckily his doctors say he's doing very well with his treatments, but chemo is as rough on him as it is rough on my mom and I financially.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/bandits-wrecking-cancer-but-theres-bills

I don't expect much to come from making a gofundme page(although @heyopc did pretty well on there after his place got robbed and recently one of my professors at SCAD raised over 30k in a day for his leukemia bills), but even if I don't believe I deserve your money or your time or your platform to broadcast this page, I know for a fact Bandit definitely does and so does every beautiful dog in this world(which is all of them). So I might as well put myself out there for him. Please, if you can't donate(I understand that more than anyone right now), share the link <3

Thank you for being my Newgrounds Family for over 5 years,

-brandon

UPDATE 2/25/2023: Bandit Yoshi Driesse (June 21st 2005 - February 25th 2023)

my puppy, my boy, my brother, my best friend, my emotional constant and my reason for living died saturday morning at around 4am peacefully in his sleep. I know that sounds like the "thing to say", but the truth is Bandit was so strong, far stronger than me, and he faced new hardships constantly just to spend more time on earth with me. In the last year he developed a lingering cough, he tore his ACL in his back-right leg and had to re-learn how to walk, and he experienced several frightening seizures increasing in frequency from once a year to once a month to twice a week. On the morning of the 24th I heard my panicked mother scream "Brandon, Bandit! He's dead!" through my door and I bolted awake to be by his side, to hold him. She begged through tears for Bandit to come back to us as she administered CPR and because of her, he did. I'll be forever thankful to my mom for giving me one more full day with the love of my life. Later that night whenever Bandit was cold, shivering, or uncomfortable he'd give a tiny yelp and I'd dash to his side to calm him down, stroke his temple, touch his paw pads, and pet his head; remind him I was there for him. I never left him until he was able to go back to sleep. He called out to me a dozen times in the early hours of the 25th and finally, a little after 3am, but before 5am my mother woke me to say he quietly died in his sleep, sleeping right next to his mother. He didn't call out for me this time, so yeah, I think he went peacefully in his sleep, totally cancer-free. I held my fuzzy, little angel in my arms and so far I haven't stopped crying. Waking up without the pitter patter of claws on the wood floor, a scratch at the door to come in, a lick in the ear, and a bark for some of my breakfast already sends me to tears...

I don't think I can handle seeing these words on my profile every day which is why I've chosen to update this older blog post about him instead.

Bandit, you were the happiest 17 years, 8 months, and 4 days of my whole life. I can't recall more than a handful of moments before you came into my life. Before I met you, I was still waiting for my life to begin and now I don't know how to live without you. You are truly the most important thing in my life and somehow you don't feel gone to me.

rest in peace little buddy <3