'She Is So Close': Gigi, LI Vet's Service Dog Lost 6 Weeks, Maybe Seen

MATTITUCK, NY — Almost seven weeks since Gigi, a Long Island veteran's beloved service dog, went missing in Mattituck, a ray of hope dawned Tuesday.

"Please, please, please," Katheen Stewart DiSilvio wrote on Facebook. "Possible sighting of Gigi less than a mile from our home. Please keep an eye out, check any camera, and try to respond in real-time. She is so, so close."

Gigi was most recently spotted on Elijahs Lane in Cutchogue, she said, the second sighting in two days.

If you see Gigi, call or text 516-443-4902.

Stewart DiSilvio said Gigi is a black Labrador Retriever, just a year and a half old. She was last seen on Saturday, July 15, on Marratooka Lane in Mattituck.

In past weeks, Gigi's family received a message from a woman who told her that her husband had seen a dog at about 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. that looked just like Gigi "running in the back" of the Raphael winery's location on New York State Route 25 in Peconic.

That lead did not pan out, but now, there is renewed vigor as the search hones in on the Cutchogue area.

Stewart DiSilvio said the weeks have been long, but her family has never given up hope of bringing sweet Gigi home.

"She is everything to our family," said Stewart. "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."

Her daughter Isla and her friend Juliette are making and selling bracelets with Gigi's name on them.

But despite the rays of hope and optimism, grief blankets the family's home; her husband, Stewart DiSilvio said, is also struggling with Gigi's loss, battling anxiety and PTSD. A combat vet, he served with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY; he later served at Fort Drum in Jefferson County, NY.

Gigi was last seen wearing her collar and a Seresto flea and tick collar, Stewart said.

"She is stubborn; however, not frightened of people and gravitates to children," Stewart said.

The outpouring of love has overwhelmed, with almost everyone on the North Fork aware of Gigi and trying to help.

Neighbors, strangers, and friends have been willing to go to great lengths to share Gigi's story, knock on doors, hang flyers, and contact the media. "The word that she's missing is out there," Stewart DiSilvio said. "Everybody knows who Gigi is."

There have been several instances, too, when hopes were dashed; once, a local business posted joyfully that Gigi had been found; another time, it was the wrong dog — false alarms that felt like blows to their hearts.

Stewart offered a heartfelt plea for the community to keep looking: "We love her. She is more than just a beautiful Labrador. We need her back."

The family is offering a reward for her safe return for anyone who finds Gigi and can provide proof that’s it really her, and that she's safe.