A Louisiana woman and her Yorkshire Terrier were reunited after the dog went missing five years ago due to Hurricane Laura. The dog was found at a Kappa Sigma fraternity house at Southern Miss, where the members scanned the dog’s microchip to locate its owner.

Hattiesburg

Debbie LaFleur experienced an emotional reunion with her Yorkshire Terrier, Kingston, who had gone missing five years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura. Originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Kingston was recently found in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, about 300 miles away from his home. He was discovered by members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Southern Mississippi University who noticed the dog on their back porch wearing a red t-shirt.

The fraternity members, led by President Neil Richell, took Kingston in, referring to him as "Benji," until they scanned his microchip. Upon realizing his true identity and learning about his disappearance, they contacted LaFleur. Overjoyed by the news, LaFleur made the four-hour drive to Hattiesburg with her son to bring Kingston back home. The reunion was marked by emotions as Kingston recognized LaFleur and ran to greet her.

LaFleur expressed gratitude to the fraternity members for caring for Kingston and making an effort to find his rightful owner. She fondly remembered her late husband, Joe, wishing he could have been part of the reunion, noting he was probably orchestrating this reconnection. Kingston leaves his honorary status as a Kappa Sigma brother behind as he returns home with LaFleur.



Owner reunites with dog after five years

A REUNION OF A LIFETIME. Debbie LaFleur is reunited with her Yorkie Kingston that has been missing for five years. Never. I never thought I would see him again. Kingston went missing from Lake Charles, Louisiana in 2020 after Hurricane Laura. Now he shows up 300 miles away from home on the back porch of the Southern Miss Kappa Sig House. And I walk outside and there's this Yorkie just sitting there in a red t-shirt. Kappa Sig President Neil Richell and his fraternity brothers took him in and started calling him Benji. The next day our vice president went and got his chip checked and that's when we found out that his name was actually Kingston not Benji and he had been missing for five years which is kind of crazy. But before I could call him, he called me. My heart just started pounding and I told my boss, I was like, I found Kingston, I found Kingston. And we both just started yelling and screaming. LaFleur and her son made the four hour trip to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to bring Kingston back to Louisiana. I'm talking about as soon as she got out of the car and he saw her, we've never seen Benji run like that and he sprinted with his ears perked up and it was awesome to see. She says the only thing that could have made this moment better is if her husband Joe got to be there too. They were best friends. I mean they were like two peas in a pod. The only down part is that my husband is gone now but he's probably made this all happen for us. Now, Kingston is leaving Hattiesburg an honorary fraternity brother. He's like a member of the chapter right now. He's done everything with us for the past week and through our eyes at least, he's a Kappa Sig. LaFleur says she'll always be grateful for the members of Kappa Sig. Wonderful, wonderful guys. I mean everybody wouldn't have done that, you know. Taking the time out to find, you know, who the owner was. Yeah, he's so beautiful. So happy to have my baby back. Southern Miss! To the top! Reporting in Hattiesburg, Delaney Dukes, WDAM 7, On Your Side.

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