For Rachel. For Paris.

Project StarPaw began in the quiet space where grief meets gratitude, shaped by two lives that forever changed mine: Rachel, my friend, and Paris, my Jack Russell.

Their lives were different, but they shared one heartbreaking truth: they were both fighting cancer at the same time. Rachel fought with courage, grace, humor, and strength. Paris brought loyalty, comfort, and joy into every day. Together, they taught me something I will carry forever:

Even when cancer takes so much, love still finds a way to create light.

After they were gone, I knew I did not only want to remember them.

I wanted to respond.

⭐ Rachel's Light

Rachel was a beloved friend whose life left a lasting mark on everyone who knew her. She had a light cancer could never take away. Even in the hardest moments, her courage, humor, strength, and presence continued to reach the people around her.

The first dream behind Project StarPaw was created for Rachel: one extraordinary moment where she could step away from treatments, appointments, and the weight of cancer — and simply be present in joy. We called it: The Brightest Star Experience.

That dream became the beginning of everything. One moment imagined for one extraordinary person became the foundation for a mission created to serve many.

Rachel is the Star in StarPaw. Her light is where this mission began.

🐾 Paris's Joy

Paris was my Jack Russell — loyal, funny, stubborn, joyful, and full of life. She had a way of making ordinary days feel meaningful just by being there.

Paris was not just a pet. She was family. She was comfort. She was companionship. She was joy in motion.

While Rachel was fighting cancer, Paris was fighting cancer too. That connection changed everything. This mission was never only about grief — it was about love: the kind that stays with you, follows you forward, and asks you to do something meaningful with what you have lost.

Paris is the Paw in StarPaw. Her joy lives inside every moment we hope to create.

❤️ Love at the Center

As the mission grew, the name had to grow with it. First, there was The Brightest Star Experience — the dream created for Rachel. Then came Pawsitive Moments — a way to carry the warmth, loyalty, and joy Paris represented.

But something was still incomplete. Rachel's light needed to remain. Paris's joy needed to remain. And the love connecting them both needed to be visible. That is how Project StarPaw was born.

The Star honors Rachel's light. The Paw honors Paris's joy. And hidden at the center of the symbol is an upside-down heart — a quiet reminder that love connects every story, every family, and every moment we create.

⭐ Star. 🐾Paw. ❤️Love.

Rachel's light. Paris's joy. Love at the center.

⭐ One Moment Became a Mission

Project StarPaw exists because cancer takes so much: time, energy, certainty, normalcy, plans, peace. But cancer does not get to take every moment.

Project StarPaw exists to create deeply personal experiences for individuals and families facing cancer — moments of joy, peace, laughter, rest, connection, and love. Moments where families can step away from treatments and appointments. Moments where they are seen as people, not patients. Moments where they can simply be together.

Moments cancer can't take away.

⭐ The Day That Became a Mission

Before Project StarPaw had a name, it had a day.

On November 8, 2024, nearly thirty friends and volunteers came together to create one extraordinary day for Rachel.

The day began with breakfast, shopping, and a spa visit. It continued with a hotel suite, a black Bentley, formal escorts, a private speakeasy, dinner, a fireworks boat, champagne, and a room filled with friends waiting for a slumber party.

Behind every visible moment was work Rachel never had to manage: backup transportation, alternate plans, a backup boat, assigned logistics, and a private website updated live so her family could share the day while its surprises remained protected.

The Rachel Experience happened before Project StarPaw existed. It proved that when the right people bring the right skills, relationships, resources, and care, an extraordinary possibility can become real.

That lesson became The Constellation.

Project StarPaw was not created and then tested through the Rachel Experience. The Rachel Experience happened first. Project StarPaw was created because it worked.

Read the Founding Case Study

✨ Every Story Leaves a Light Behind

Project StarPaw is built on a belief Rachel and Paris left behind:

Every story leaves a light behind.

Some lights shine through friendship, family, loyalty, courage, laughter — some through the unconditional love of a companion who never left your side. Rachel and Paris both left a light behind.

Project StarPaw exists to carry that light forward by creating moments for others walking through cancer — moments that remind families they are still allowed to dream, laugh, rest, celebrate, and be together.

A Note From the Founder

Project StarPaw was born during one of the darkest seasons of my life.

Rachel and Paris were both fighting cancer, and I was trying to hold together a world that seemed to be breaking apart all at once. When I reached my lowest point, I began to see something I had almost missed: the light they had left behind was still there.

That light became a responsibility.

Project StarPaw is my promise to carry Rachel’s light and Paris’s joy forward by creating deeply personal moments for individuals and families facing cancer.

We are building this carefully, honestly, and with one belief at the center:

The family does not serve the Experience. The Experience serves the family.

This mission began with two extraordinary lives. My hope is that their light will now help create brighter days for many others.

Mathew Riquier

Founder, Project StarPaw

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Paris The Dog
We did it! All of Route 66!
Hello!
Nap Time...
Santa's Little Helper
A small dog with a brown and white coat, wearing a pink harness, is sitting on a person's lap in a kayak. The kayak is floating on clear, green water with a dense, green forest in the background.
Small brown and white dog with a happy expression, standing on brown mulch, pressing against a chain-link fence.
Young brown and white dog with a red collar inside a kennel, looking out through metal bars, with a water bowl and newspaper on the floor.
A dog standing on its hind legs in front of a gray wall, licking its nose with its tongue.
A happy small dog with brown and white fur, sitting on the back seat of a car. The dog is wearing a colorful harness and has its mouth open with tongue out.
A small dog wearing an orange life vest, standing on a wooden floor near a gray wall and doorway.
A smiling man with glasses and a white hat, a smiling woman holding a small dog, and a man holding a blue sign that says 'Route 66 Mother Road' in front of brick buildings.
Close-up of a small dog with brown and white fur, looking up at the camera, wearing a red collar, lying on a dark surface.
A happy dog with a tan and white coat and a black nose, yawning widely while sitting in a car. The dog is wearing a green harness with a label featuring a peace sign, a heart, and a paw print. The sky is blue visible through the car window.
A dog with a red leash and harness standing on a city plaza with tall buildings, the Cloud Gate sculpture, and people in the background.

For Rachel. For Paris.