Chicanx Latinx Art and Artists: Sketchbook Stencil Cover

I will design an animal skull for my sketchbook stencil cover. The animal that I have chosen is a dog. I want the skull to be white and the shadows of the skull to be the black from the actual sketchbook cover. I love animals. Several years ago I had a dog that was 13 years old who ended up missing after there was a dispute with my neighbor. My neighbor had made many threats to kill my dog and me, by chopping off our heads with a machete that he was brandishing in the driveway. My neighbor threatened that if the dog would go onto his property again he would kill him and me. Shortly thereafter my neighbor assaulted my life-partner and continued to make death threats towards both of us. When we called 911 and the officers responded they did not arrest our neighbor. One of the officers suggested that we get a restraining order against our neighbor, while the other officer was reluctant to offer such advice because of our properties proximity to each other. The other officers statement was that there would not be a Judge who would be willing to grant such an order because of the location of our property and our neighbors. And that there would be no way to determine how many feet my neighbor would have to stay away from us, so that he would not be violating such an order. Well, I chose to go and seek legal aid and I ended up getting two restraining orders against my neighbor that are still in effect today and have been renewed in the past.

So, the dog skull is a symbol for a piece of my heart that has been damaged by the lack of consolation. Till this day I still don't know what happened to my dog? I don't know where he is, or if he is still alive and suffering? So, it's the simple fact of not knowing that bothers me. I had this dog since he was born, my family had his parents and grandparents who have all passed on. I miss my dog because he was a special part of my family. I will never forget him. The memory of my dog will live on, in my drawings on my sketchbook that are ultimately an extension of myself.