I never thought I would be writing something like this and I really wish I wasnt.

Last night my sister in law Maddy had her childhood pony and best friend of almost 20 years taken from her in the most unimaginable way.

Dane was shot at Lovely Banks during the night. He wasn't found until early this morning when it was time for his breakfast.

This cruel act was totally random & Maddy has had no chance for goodbye or to process this devastating situation.

Anyone who knows Maddy knows how much Dane meant to her.

She grew up with him. she was inseparable with Dane and went through nearly 20 years of life side by side. He was there through her teenage years into adulthood, the good times and some of the hardest times of her life.

Dane was a loved member of our family.

As Maddy grew up Dane didn't become something she left behind with her childhood. He was included in the family she built with Jessie and their two young kids Kye and Vella.

And that's another part of this that is so hard to accept.

There was still meant to be more time.

The same little pony Maddy grew up riding was now teaching her little boy kye to ride too.

Maddy was getting to watch Kye make his own memories with Dane, just like she had been herself most of her life

And Vella is only two.

Her turn was still supposed to come.

That was supposed to be part of their childhood too.

That time has now been taken from all of them.

Today, after losing Dane, Maddy wrote:

“You're my best friend in the entire world. Thank you for getting me through the hardest parts of my life. I couldn't have done this lifetime without you.”

I don't think I could ever explain what Dane meant to her better than that.

Right now, Maddy is trying to comprehend that Dane who has been such a constant part of her life is suddenly gone.

Police detectives are involved and we desperately hope that in time there will be answers about what happened to Dane.

But while all of that is being investigated, Maddy has also been faced with something she shouldn't have to be worrying about right now....

how she is going to afford to bring Danes ashes home.

I also want to explain something because I know people sometimes see a family with a pony and assume they must have a comfortable lifestyle

That's simply not the reality for Maddy and Jessie.

They're a young family raising two young children. Keeping Dane all these years hasn't meant they've had money to spare.

Quite the opposite.

They have budgeted, gone without other things and made sacrifices so they could continue to care for Dane and keep this special part of Maddy's childhood in their family.

Dane wasn't a luxury. He was their one pony. He was family.

And he was part of how they spent time together as a family.

For Maddy and Jessie, keeping Dane meant being able to give their children something money can't really buy time together, outside, learning to ride and sharing something that had been such a huge part of their mum's childhood.

They chose to make sacrifices elsewhere so their children could have that.

Maddy and Jessie could plan and budget for the normal costs of caring for their one pony because Dane was a priority they deliberately made room for in their lives.

What they could never have planned for was somebody suddenly taking his life and leaving them needing to find the money for his collection and individual cremation overnight.

Maddy never asks for much.

She has barely been able to speak today but one of the few things she has managed to say is that she needs Dane cremated so his ashes can be returned home to her and her family.

When I asked Maddy if she would let me start a GoFundMe to help with the cost her reply was that she felt selfish letting me do it.

That broke my heart.

Even after everything that has happened while she's trying to process losing her best friend of almost 20 years she's worried that accepting help from other people is asking too much.

So I'm putting this out there for her because she would never ask for anything herself.

There is nothing selfish about needing the boy you have loved for almost 20 years to come home.

Iam not asking for anything extravagant. This is not about an expensive memorial or anything fancy.

She just needs Dane home.

Every dollar raised will go towards the cost of having Dane cremated and his ashes returned home to Maddy and her family.

I can't undo what happened to him.

I can't give Maddy the goodbye she should have had.

I can't give Kye back the pony he was learning to ride and I can't give Vella the years with Dane that should have still been ahead of her.

And I can't take away what Jessie is going through watching his family hurt.

But I can try to make sure that money isn't the reason Maddy has to lose one more piece of Dane.

If you can spare $5, $10, $20 or anything at all, it will genuinely help us get him home.

And if you're not in a position to donate, please don't feel like you have to. Sharing this page for Maddy would mean just as much.

If enough of us give a little, Maddy won't have to choose between putting even more financial pressure on her young family and bringing home the boy who has been part of her life since she was a kid.

Now Maddy is facing one of the hardest moments of her life without him.

So I'm hoping we can be there for her.

Please help me take this one worry away from Maddy and give her the one thing she desperately needs right now:

To bring her boy home.

Thank you so much for reading, donating or simply sharing.

Kristy

Maddy's sister in law