ST. LANDRY PARISH — A 16-year-old service dog is back home after disappearing when a vehicle crashed into a Eunice barbershop Saturday, leaving his owner and the community searching for him.
Chance belongs to Robin Guidry, the girlfriend of Stanford’s Barber Shop owner Stephen Stanford. The dog was inside the shop when the vehicle crashed through the building.
“I dug through the debris. He wasn't there. Then when the fire department got here and everything, they were trying to get me out of the home, but I actually told the fire and police, would you leave your troop behind? They said, no. I said, I'm looking for my service dog. He's a US service dog Marine. They said that when they were coming to the scene of the accident, they saw him running down College Road, scared,” Guidry said.
That sighting became one of the few leads in the search for Chance. She continued asking for help and after the story spread, a family spotted Chance at a nearby park. They recognized him from his photo on Facebook, stopped to investigate and helped bring him back to Guidry.
Guidry said the reunion came after about a day and a half of searching and credited the people who continued looking, as well as KATC that helped spread the word.
“If it wasn't for them taking their time out of their life, just pull on the side of the road and look at that picture on Facebook and say that is that lady's dog and came and got me and we went down there and we found him,” Guidry said.
Guidry said Chance’s return shows the impact people can have when they refuse to give up.
“People do care. And because of this, I got my dog home in one, in a day and a half. Because of that news reporter and those people that found them and not giving up. So I would like to say don't give up. People are out there to help,” Guidry said.
Police have identified the driver accused of the hit-and-run but are withholding the person’s name while an arrest warrant is pending. The crash remains under investigation.
