My late daughter’s dog dealt with grief alongside our family

I have always loved dogs, and for most of my life, I’ve had one by my side. There’s just something about their unconditional love that feeds my soul. My children will get mad at me if they don’t get their way, but my dogs are happy as long as I am by their side.

We got Milo in January 2016. My daughter Austen was 7 months old, and we were navigating the beginning stages of what would become our Dravet syndrome journey. My then-husband was working on the road, and for the first time in a long time, we didn’t have a dog.

I told an acquaintance who fostered dogs for the shelter that I was looking for a gentle giant — a dog that looked mean when it jumped up to the window, but was scared of its own shadow. She told me she had the perfect boy for me: a 10-month-old Lab-mastiff mix that had already been abandoned at the shelter twice. Milo needed a home full of love, and we had just that.

I assumed Milo would be my dog, as all the previous ones had been. But the first night after we brought him home, he witnessed Austen have a seizure, and although it scared him, it also brought out a fierce protective instinct. From that day on, Milo might have been my dog, but it was apparent that Austen was his kid.

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Austen and Milo grew up together. She used him as her own personal jungle gym, climbing on his back and pulling his ears and tail. He had the patience of a saint, shadowing her during the day and sleeping at her feet each night. Even when she moved from my bed to her own, Milo went with her.

Milo was not trained as a service dog, but he was a constant source of support to Austen during her battle with Dravet syndrome. He lay next to her during seizures and had to be dragged away if paramedics arrived. When seizures and medication side effects made her walk unsteadily, Milo walked beside her. When she was sick or tired, he perched himself on the couch to keep her company. Every step Austen took, through good times and bad, Milo was there.

Milo and Austen were happiest when playing outside together. After my children and I moved back home to Texas from Colorado, we spent a year and a half at my aunt and uncle’s home while I got on my feet. Austen and Milo could spend hours walking the path between the big house and my granny’s tiny house that sat on the same property. I’d watch them from the porch as they went. Austen laughed and stopped every few steps to look at some plant or bug she found. Milo stopped with her, his tail wagging the entire time.

Eventually, I moved into a new house with my now-husband, Dakota, and our children. But when Austen passed away in June 2024 at age 9, I couldn’t bring myself to go back there.

Dakota picked up Milo and brought him to my aunt and uncle’s house for me. As family and friends swarmed in to support us, I sat in the living room with Milo. I swear he knew something was going on. I remember reading somewhere that you need to tell a person’s pets about their death, so I held him close and whispered into his ear that Austen had gone to heaven. He lay in my lap and let me hold him as I cried.

Milo mourned Austen’s death alongside us. He’ll be 11 next month — an age his girl will never get to see, but should be turning this year as well. He’s starting to slow down as he walks, and he sometimes hesitates now before jumping on the bed or couch. Eleven is old for a dog of his size, and I know our time with him is slowly slipping away. I believe that Austen will be waiting for him when his time does come, ready for another walk along some dirt road in heaven, where his tail can wag as she laughs and lingers. Together again, friends forever.

Note: Dravet Syndrome News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Dravet Syndrome News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Dravet syndrome.