“Millie was becoming withdrawn and had stopped eating,” daughter Carolann told The Dodo, adding that the dog has separation anxiety.

Fortunately, she found just the thing to help.

Initially, Carolann tried to help Millie cope by having her Dad on speakerphone, but that only seemed to make things worse. The dog would slump away sadly as if hearing his voice only reminded her how much she missed him being around. That was before Carolann had an even better idea.

“I thought it would be a funny alternative to print his face off, laminate it and attach it to something,” she said. “My sister’s old room is full of toys so I figured those would be the best option.”

And with that, Millie’s new ‘dad toys’ were born.

Carolann admits the toys look a little strange — especially the one with her dad’s face on the body of Patrick Star, from “Spongebob Squarepants” — but much to her surprise, Millie took to them immediately.

“Millie absolutely loves them,” said Carolann. “After sniffing them and playing around a bit she took them to her basket and rested her head on one of them. She definitely looked a lot happier than she has been.

It still may be a little while longer until Millie is reunited with her dad in real life, but until then, the ‘dad toys’ are saving the place in her heart that she keeps just for him.