Who Is Austin Brown?

            Austin Brown is a little boy with a big can-do spirit. When Austin was only three years old, two huskies in the neighbor’s yard put their heads under the fence and grabbed Austin’s arm. His father was close by, but the dogs chewed off half of Austin’s right arm before he could free his son. The dogs were sent to a sanctuary.


            After a week in the hospital, Austin was released to go home. However, home would never again be the same. His father suffered PTSD from the attack. He drained the family bank account, took the car, and left. He has never returned. He left his wife and son to deal with the results, and they seem to be overcoming the incident. The couple are now divorced.


            Austin’s mother, Hope Brown, spoke publicly recently about the attack that took place March 2019 in Layton, Utah. She expressed her shock and her fear when her husband called her at work. Now she is dealing with verbal attacks from people that do not even know the family. They blame Austin for provoking the attack. They blame Hope for being a terrible mother.


            There is a knight-in-shining armor in the background. He is Josh Barnett, a husband and father from Logan, Utah. He became friends with Hope, Austin, and a little sister. He also started an Amazon wish list as well as a GoFundMe account to help the family with Christmas and medical expenses.

            Hope says that Austin keeps her grounded because he acts as though the attack did not happen. “Austin’s strength is my strength. He is amazing. He can do so much, and he is so strong,” she said.