Louisiana native Debbie LaFleur reunited with her dog Kingston, five years after they were separated by Hurricane Laura in 2020, at a fraternity house in Missouri. He immediately ran into her arms.
Missing yorkie found five years later at Kappa Sigma fraternity house
A Yorkshire Terrier named Kingston, missing since 2020, was found at a Kappa Sigma fraternity house in Hattiesburg, MS, leading to a heartwarming reunion.
- Debbie LaFleur's dog, Kingston, went missing after Hurricane Laura in 2020.
- Five years later, Kingston was found 300 miles away at a University of Southern Mississippi fraternity house.
- The fraternity, Kappa Sigma, cared for Kingston and named him “Benji” until LaFleur was located through his microchip.
- LaFleur believes her late husband, who was very close to Kingston, played a part in the reunion.
- LaFleur urges all pet owners to microchip their animals.
After Hurricane Laura wreaked havoc in southwestern Louisiana in 2020, Debbie LaFleur never thought she's see her 6-year-old dog Kingston again.
In the deadly storm's aftermath, LaFleur's neighborhood in Lake Charles became a hectic scene with debris everywhere and officials from several states conducting recovery operations. In the midst of the chaos, she returned home one day to a cracked window and no sign of her beloved Yorkshire Terrier anywhere.
“We had had Kingston for six years by this time. He was part of our lives. He was our baby,” LaFleur told USA TODAY on Thursday. “And so we went around the whole neighborhood. Everybody on Facebook was trying to help us locate him, but it was like, ‘We're not gonna get him back.'”
While blessed the storm did not destroy their longtime home, LaFleur and her husband Joseph were devastated they could not find their pint-sized companion.
LaFleur had long accepted that Kingston was gone until she received an email from GPS tracking service PetLink last month informing her that her now 11-year-old dog was found at a college fraternity nearly 300 miles away in another state.
And so a week later she and her son drove over four hours to the Kappa Sigma house at the University of Southern Mississippi, where Kingston awaited his big reunion.
“We pulled up to the house and all the guys were outside,” she said. “I was at the end of the walkway, and he was at the house, and I just said, ‘Kingston, come to Mommy' And he just took off running, which made my heart burst even more. It was wonderful, wonderful to see him.”
Kingston, who weighs just 7.5 ounces, has since returned home where he met a new brother: a 3-year-old Shih Tzu named Cooper. LaFleur said her family is making sure not to lose track of him again.
Kingston spent around a week as honorary Kappa Sigma member ‘Benji'
Where the tiny dog spent nearly half a decade may forever remain a mystery but the Kappa Sigma fraternity can confirm that he spent nearly a week as one of their brothers.
Kappa Sigma President Neal Rachal said he found the Yorkie right outside the frat house's front door the morning of March 30. He proceeded to try to find his owner, spreading the word about the dog across the Greek Life organizations before taking him in and naming him Benji.
Fraternity Vice President John Christopher took him to a veterinarian, where he learned that the dog was microchipped.
“I walk in the house and John said, ‘He's Kingston' and I was like, “What are you talking about, dude?'” Rachal told USA TODAY. “And he was like ‘No, Benji is Kingston. He's from Lake Charles, Louisiana, and he's been missing for five years.'”
The members immediately contacted LaFleur through PetLink and informed her that Kingston was with them and healthy. Her work schedule prevented her from heading straight to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, so the dog stayed at Kappa Sigma until April 4.
“He hung out with a bunch of my pledge brothers and just guys around the house. And then whenever we had an intramural softball game, he'd come to the softball game with us. I know he went to Walmart and the local grocery store a couple of times,” Rachal said. “I mean, wherever we went he was with us.”
LaFleur believes her late husband brought Kingston home
Before a hurricane drifted them apart, Kingston and LeFleur's husband Joseph were inseparable.
“When my husband would have his plate of food, he had to give Kingston a plate of food with the exact same thing. When he went to McDonald's, he had to get Kingston nuggets,” LaFleur said. “He slept on my husband every night and and he wouldn't come to me unless my husband was going to work, and then he was snuggle with me … It was his best friend.”
Unfortunately, the dog could not reunite with Joseph, who died in a 2022 accident at work, LaFleur said.
While LaFleur wishes Joseph could see Kingston back at their Lake Charles home and said that part of her believes he made the reunion happen. Since returning home, Kingston has readjusted to his old life and so has LaFleur.
“I feel like I have a piece of my husband back,” she said.
She credited the miraculous reunion to their decision to get Kingston microchipped when he was just 3 months old.
“Once you microchip them and register them, no matter where in the world they would be, they would locate you. So that's very important and just a matter of taking them to a vet,” she said. “If you love your little fur baby get them chipped.”
