At Millikin, senior Katie Czajkowski lives with her girlfriend Marielle Tepe and their cat Binx. While they get along fine, Czajkowski misses her two-year-old Doodle-Australian Shepherd mix Milo.

Last Easter, her mother and grandmother went to adopt a dog. Their previous dog, a Lassa Apso named Oliver, had passed away when Czajkowski was still in school. It had gotten quite lonely, and they wanted to find a different dog.

“I could tell my family relied on having a dog as a companion,” Czajkowski said. “So, I knew they wanted another one.”

Having Milo around proved to be a new experience for everyone. Since Oliver was an older dog, the family wasn’t prepared for Milo’s energy. Nevertheless, everyone loves his playfulness all the same.

Milo loves and is not afraid of playing games with people. If you take a toy and go hide, he’ll sniff his way to come find you. He’ll also play with just about anything. He’ll go after balls of any kind, but he has no favorite toy.

“He’s the kind of dog that will play with whatever toy you’ll give him,” Czajkowski said.

Milo is also one of those big dogs that loves acting like a lap-dog. Never mind the fact that he’s about 65 pounds of dog. If anyone watches tv, he’ll leap on the couch and rest comfortably on them.

Depending on the time of year, Milo’s fur gets to be groomed. In the winter months, he gets to grow his fur out a bit. In the summer, he needs to have his fur trimmed. After all, a thick black coat plus the hot Arizona heat doesn’t make a good combination. Whatever the season, he needs to have his fur brushed regularly, otherwise, his coat will get knotty.

When it comes to treats, Milo is a born carnivore. He loves eating chicken treats stored in the freezer to stay fresh. He also enjoys raw soup bones to chew on.

More than anything else, Milo thrives on attention. He doesn’t like being ignored for too long, and when that happens, you could count on this dog making some mischief. He would often steal a towel or napkin from the kitchen and hide it upstairs. A telltale sign that he’s done something wrong: he avoids them when they approach him. Although he doesn’t destroy stuff, he’ll do enough to get noticed.

When the family is away from the house for the day, Milo would go hang out with his friends at a doggy day-care. He gets to run around and play tug-of-war with other big dogs, and it seems he always has a great time.

Milo is yet to understand what a cat is. One of Czajkowski’s uncles had recently gotten a cat, and the rest of the family is trying to teach him what a cat is.

That’s not to say, Milo’s not a smart cookie. He was able to find treats when the family placed them behind doors and drawers. He’s also smart enough to know when he’s been tricked, so they can’t pull the same trick on him more than once.

When Milo comes to greet Czajkowski, he would put his front paws on her shoulders and look into her eyes for a minute or two. It would be his fashion of giving hugs. Since she isn’t much a cat person, she has to learn how cats play and live. She often misses the outward affection she gets from Milo. And it seems, it’s a love that doesn’t go unreciprocated.

Back in Arizona, Milo sits outside Czajkowski’s bedroom door to wait for her to come play with him, hoping she would be waiting just on the other side.