When Austin Wilkes was alive you’d often find him with his best friend Remi by his side.
“He was her person,” says Austin’s sister Ansley of the red nose pitbull her brother cherished.
The bond Austin and Remi shared is one the Wilkes family now clings to as they grieve his death.
The 23-year-old Clarkesville man died late Friday night when the pickup truck he was driving crashed into an embankment and overturned. Remi was riding with him. After the accident, she disappeared.
Austin’s family knew Remi survived because they spotted her near the crash site northwest of Clarkesville the morning after the wreck. They tried to get her, but she ran away. For three days the family searched for Remi. They had lots of help. Friends posted flyers about the missing dog throughout the Cool Springs community. Neighbors and strangers kept an eye out for her after reading online about the family’s heartwrenching ordeal.
Their persistence paid off. Monday evening, the family was reunited with the dog they call their brother and son’s other half.
“My dad got a call stating that Remi had been spotted right at the woodline of the accident,” says Ansley, adding, her boyfriend “drove up there immediately.” When he arrived, Remi was gone. Undeterred, Brandon Abernathy ran through the woods, squeaking a toy, yelling Austin’s name. Remi reappeared. As Abernathy knelt to her level, the frightened dog “ran right into his arms and gave him many kisses,” says Ansley. “She was happy to see a familiar face.”
The reunion was bittersweet.
The Wilkes family remembers Austin’s work ethic and love of the outdoors— and his relationship with his dog, which was something special.
“He was a hard worker, he loved the outdoors, loved hunting and fishing, loved riding around with Remi on dirt roads and wherever they could go,” Ansley says. “He was a caring person, very caring and appreciative of everything [and] tenderhearted.”
Austin will be buried on October 5 at his home church of Cool Springs United Methodist.
Ansley says her brother wouldn’t want her and her family to be worried about him, he’d want them to find Remi and bring her home. Now that they have, their grief is tinged with gratitude.
“My family and I want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts that had a hand in bringing Remi home. We now have a piece of Austin left with us.”
