Lee County Domestic Animal Services helping reunite pets and owners

Reporter: Tiffany Rizzo Writer: Matthew Seaver
Published: Updated:
Lee County Domestic Animal Services
Lee County Domestic Animal Service’s “Do What’s Right -REUNITE” event. July 7, 2022. (Credit: WINK News)

Lee County Domestic Animal Services is helping lost pets reunite with their owners after the holiday weekend.

A woman is holding on to hope she will see her dog again after seven years of separation. Her pup ran away on July Fourth, 2015, and ever since then, she has advocated for people to return stray animals to their families if they find one.

Laurie Sloat and her yellow lab Guinness. (Credit: Laurie Sloat)

Lee County Domestic Animal Services is trying to make it easier for people to do precisely that.

The Fourth of July wouldn’t be the same for many people without fireworks, but our pets sure wish we would stop using them.

That loud noise created by fireworks can scare animals.

“Fireworks spooked them. Any kind of loud noises will spook a pet, and they go running,” said Karen Fordiani, public information specialist with Lee County Domestic Animal Services.

That is what happened to Laurie Sloat’s yellow lab Guinness in 2015. She still can’t get over his loss.

“The assumption was that he was so terrified of the noise that he jumped the fence,” said Sloat.

Seven years later, Sloat still looks for Guinness. She’s put up countless posters, handed out car magnets, and even got a psychic reading.

Missing dog posters for Laurie Sloat’s yellow lab Guinness. (Credit: Laurie Sloat)

Sloat calls Lee County Domestic Animal Services whenever there are fireworks or when she feels that someone found her precious lab.

“If I just have a gut feeling, I’ll travel there, and I’ll talk to them. And they’ll remember me, and they’ll remember him,” said Sloat.

Sloat thinks someone found guinness that fireworks night seven years ago, something Lee County Domestic Animal Services said happens all the time.

That’s why they held what they called “Do What’s Right – REUNITE” events this week.

This allows people to bring in animals they found so they can be scanned for microchips.

“We have scanners that perhaps veterinarians don’t have that pick up p chips, and we can track down owners that other places cannot,” said Fordiani.

“I get butterflies just like right now thinking that I might get that call, what I would do, how I would react,” Sloat said.

It is a day Sloat is dreaming of.

Lee County Domestic Animal Services is holding another “Do What’s Right – REUNITE” event at the Estero Recreation Center from 10 a.m. until noon on Friday.

If you find an animal you believe is lost, you can bring it to Lee County Domestic Animal Services Monday through Saturday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

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