WSVN — They reached out to Help Me Howard for help, but it wasn’t until their stories aired that they had more than one reason to be thankful. And on this Thanksgiving Eve, 7’s Patrick Fraser shares their stories on tonight’s Help Me Howard.
When we last spoke to Elayna, she was heartbroken after her dog Monte disappeared.
Elayna Fenelon: "A yorkie-poo is a mix between a yorkie and a poodle."
Monte was stolen from Elayna’s yard. Fortunately, he had a microchip implanted, and a few months after he disappeared, the chip company let her know Monte had been found.
Patrick Fraser: "Did you ask them for the name and address of the person who has your dog?"
Elayna Fenelon: "Yeah, and they told me that they cannot give me that information."
That’s when Elayna contacted us. The microchip company, Home Again, told me they would only give Monte’s location to a police department. Miami police were told Monte was in Connecticut. An officer there went to the address, but Monte was gone.
Elayna Fenelon: "That’s part of my family, and as long as I get any kind of leads, I’m going to follow up on those leads."
Elayna moved on with her life, moving to California. And then, 11 months after Monte disappeared, Home Again called and said Monte had been found wandering in Fort Lauderdale. Elayna’s family rushed over there.
Irma Milord: "She was all excited calling me, ‘Grandma, we need to get the dog. I want my dog back.’"
Monte had lost some weight. He was malnourished and limping, but he was OK.
Irma Milord: "I’m going to ship the dog back to her to California tomorrow."
The next day, he went to the vet to get checked out, and then a long flight later, he was back with Elayna. Back in her lap, happy to once again be back with his owner.
Elayna Fenelon: "I cried, I cried because it was unexpected, and I couldn’t believe it."
Damian Gallo: "Oh, the barista, the barista is very good."
Damian Gallo isn’t crying tears of joy, but he’s cautiously holding his breath.
Damian Gallo: "We got a phone call saying they were the attorneys for Starbucks Coffee."
Damian had opened a coffee shop on Miami Beach called Stardust. Starbucks said his name and logo were too similar to theirs, and he needed to change it.
Damian Gallo: "Starbucks and Stardust. To me, I think they are two totally different words. They are not similar at all."
Starbucks told us they would try to work with Damian and reach an amicable solution. So far, so good. Damian told us since the Help Me Howard aired, Starbucks has left him alone. He is happy.
Stepton Tate: "The airing of the story allowed people from the community to see it."
Stepton is now also breathing a sigh of relief…
Stepton Tate: "I’m extremely thankful and extremely happy."
Stepton called us after his partner Robert died. Robert left two cars, two boats, and a moped in the yard. Since they were not married, Robert’s mother inherited the vehicles, wouldn’t move them and wouldn’t sign them over to Stepton.
Stepton Tate: "We just don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, yeah."
After Stepton called Help Me Howard, we told him to notify his friend’s mother she had 30 days to move the vehicles. She didn’t, and Stepton’s story aired.
Stepton Tate: "Flamingo Towing was the one that really stepped up to the plate and did all the paperwork and helped me through the whole process."
Using the state towing laws, the vehicles were auctioned off. When no-one bid, Flamingo Towing donated them back to Stepton, he then sold them leaving him very happy and a little surprised at how many people offered to help after he was on Help Me Howard.
Stepton Tate: "The community stepping forward was just tremendous, and I couldn’t have done it without airing it through your program. Oh, extremely happy with Help Me Howard."
We try to solve every Help Me Howard before they air, but when we can’t, I tell people, ‘Let’s air the story and see what happens.’ Stepton is another example of South Floridians seeing his problem and offering to help, giving him and all of us a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
A problem gobbling you up? Ready to go cold turkey on it? Contact us. We aren’t into dressing people down, but we will try to serve up a tasty solution. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
E-mail: helpmeHoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
On Twitter: @helpmehoward7