08-04-2025
Fraternity brothers help reunite missing dog with owners after nearly 5 years
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WFLA) — A dog missing for five years had a sweet reunion with its owner thanks to the help of a fraternity at The University of Southern Mississippi.
Debbie LaFleur told NBC affiliate WDAM that her Yorkie, Kingston, went missing in 2020 from Lake Charles, Louisiana after Hurricane Laura.
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But on Friday, Yorkie was found 300 miles away from home, at the Kappa Sigma Fraternity house at Southern Miss.
'I walk outside, and there's just this Yorkie sitting there in a red t-shirt,' Kappa Sig President Neal Richal told WDAM.
Richal and his brothers decided to take the Yorkie in, whom they named Benji. The following day, one of the brothers checked the pup's chip, discovering that his name was actually Kingston, and had been gone for nearly five years.
The fraternity president called Kingston's owner, who made the 4-hour trip to Hattiesburg, Mississippi with her son to reunite with their beloved dog.
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'My baby!' LaFleur said as she reunited with her pet. 'I missed you so much.'
'As soon as she got out the car and he saw her, we've never seen Benji run like that. And he sprinted with his ears perked up,' Richal said. 'It was just awesome to see.'
LaFleur told WDAM she wished her late husband, Joe, would have been able to be there. She said the two were two peas in a pod, and believes he made the reunion happen.
'Wonderful, wonderful guys,' LaFleur said of the fraternity brothers. 'I mean, everybody wouldn't have done that, taken the time out to find who the owner was. He's so beautiful. So happy to have my baby back.'
Richal said that Kingston is now an honorary fraternity brother after joining the men on all their adventures that week.
'Through our eyes at least, he is a Kappa Sig,' Richal said.
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