1 Year Later, Search For LI Vet’s Missing Dog, Continues, Reward $15K

MATTITUCK, NY — Monday, July 15 marked exactly one year since Gigi, a North Fork veteran’s missing service dog, disappeared, uniting a community together in a fierce quest to bring her home.

And one year later, despite a reward offered of $15,000, Gigi’s heartbroken family is still bereft, living with a hole in their lives that echoes with loss.

Speaking with Patch, Kathleen Stewart DiSilvio said Gigi is a black Labrador Retriever. She was last seen on Saturday, July 15, 2023 on Marratooka Lane in Mattituck.

Her husband Michael, a combat who served with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY — he later served at Fort Drum in Jefferson County, NY — battles anxiety and PTSD, she said. Their entire family has been wreathed in grief since the day Gigi disappeared.

Describing that day, Stewart DiSilvio said she had gone with her daughter and a friend to the beach just down the road about 4 p.m. Gigi, she said, went missing around the same time.

There have been indications that Gigi was not lost, but stolen — taken, Stewart DiSilvio said. Two separate witnesses, she said, told her family that a man was seen on Marratooka Lane “trying to corral” two dogs. The DiSilvio family has two dogs but on that day, only one came home.

Gigi was never seen again.

In the long and heartaching months that followed, hundreds and hundreds of “missing” posters were plastered across the North Fork; and Stewart DiSilvio says videos have shown an unidentified man removing them, more than once.

That’s why, she said, she and her family believe, deep inside, that Gigi is still out there, waiting to go home to her devastated family.

“Nothing adds up,” she said. “Nothing makes sense. Something is just off.”

Gigi, Stewart DiSilvio said, is more than just a pet — she’s a member of the family. It took a full year before her family decided upon Gigi, their forever dog, and brought her home, she said.

“She is everything to our family,” she said. “It’s very hard to put into words because she is more than just a pet. She is also a family member — and service dog for my husband.”

The loss her family feels is achingly real.

“Not knowing is the worst thing,” she said. “I love her so much; I can’t live without knowing that she’s okay. We just want her home.”

She added: “So many people say, ‘She’s a dog, you’ll get over it.’ But they don’t understand, she’s a part of our family. Dogs are always happy to see you. They love you, no matter what.”

Reflecting on the past year, Stewart DiSilvio says she’s reminded of the song from “Rent”, “Seasons of Love,” that talks about the number of minutes in a year. Despite the long hours and minutes and seconds, Stewart DiSilvio said she and her family’s sadness is as fresh as it was, that first day.

They’ve spent much time poring over the many, many photos and videos they’d taken of Gigi, so tiny when they brought her home. “We relieve every moment,” she said.

The pain, she said, is palpable, still. Even now, Stewart DiSilvio said, when shopping, she reaches for two pairs of flip flops, knowing Gigi would always chew on one — so she bought spares.

The grief has been exacerbated by the prank calls the family has received, by people pretending to have found Gigi, who then just laugh and hang up.

On the flip side, though, the entire DiSilvio thanks the scores of people who’ve come forward, from near and far, to help bring Gigi home, pledging funds to help, organizing searches, having posters printed, and offering love and support during the darkest of hours.

But despite the outpouring of concern, there are the long, dark hours, the nights when questions make it impossible to find peace.

“The void is there,” Stewart DiSilvio said. “Gigi was by my side, all day long. She slept in my bed every night. I never realized how big a queen-sized bed was, until she wasn’t there.”

Even after the 12 long months, 52 weeks, 525,600 minutes, 31,536,000 seconds of the past year, the faint whisper of hope still flickers.

“In my heart, I do believe she’s out there, looking at these same stars, ” Stewart DiSilvio said. “I pray that someone who knows something, or who has her, will do the right thing and return her to us. That’s all we have.”

If you see Gigi or would like to donate to the reward fund, call or text 516-443-4902.