Sometimes, the job of a Big is just to walk alongside their Little and offer support and encouragement during life’s tough times.
Big Sister Hollie Doak was matched with Little Sister Mayzi just before school started in August. At the same time, Mayzi and her grandmother Pattie had just brought home a second hedgehog. As foster parents for Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control, they love animals and work hard to find them forever homes. Mayzi already had one hedgehog named Ashley who enjoyed having a new friend.
“They are really sweet,” Mayzi said. “They are like spiky but the most cuddly little animal ever. I like them more than a hamster because they have no personality, and I’ve never seen a hedgehog without a personality.”
Mayzi, 11, has personality and energy to spare for the family’s one dog, three cats, two sugargliders and Ashley the hedgehog.
Appropriately, Hollie has five dogs of her own and worked as a vet tech for six years. In fact, she was there the day Oreo came home.
“A lot of times I’ll tell her that she reminds me of myself at that age, just a lot more advanced,” Hollie said. “She sees the whole picture whereas most 11-year-olds do not. It’s like having a conversation with an adult sometimes. I like the creative side of her, and I just enjoy spending time with her.”
Unfortunately, Oreo only survived four months in Mayzi’s home. Usually, hedgehogs live anywhere from 3 to 7 years, but no one knows exactly how old Oreo was.
“I was really upset and in denial,” Mayzi said. “I definitely think he had a better four months with me than he would have had bouncing around to different foster homes. He probably would not have survived as long. Oreo was very sweet, but that’s just how life works.”
So the next time Mayzi met with Hollie she knew exactly what she wanted to do, but she also needed Hollie’s help. They went to a local craft store to buy canvases for painting.
Mayzi wanted to paint a picture of Oreo.
“I painted a little gray blob and she pained a little red blob on top of it, and then I took a Sharpie and colored in details to make it look like a hedgehog with a hat on top,” Mayzi.
Every time Hollie checked to make sure she was doing what Mayzi asked correctly, Mayzi would just laugh and say things would be fine.
They turned out a lot better than fine. The painting they produced has a permanent spot on Mayzi’s bedroom wall.
“She understands,” Mayzi’s grandmother said of Hollie. “Some people who don’t have animals don’t understand how attached you get, and Mayzi gets very attached, but Hollie understands that. She and Hollie just relate to each other.”
If you’d like to find out more about being involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana as a potential Big, volunteer or donor, call 260-456-1600 or go to bbbsnei.org.