Charlie, a beloved family dog missing for a week in Illinois, has been reunited with his relieved family thanks to a dedicated rescue team utilizing thermal drone technology to help locate him.
Charlie disappeared on a foggy Monday morning, leaving his family, Kate and David, devastated and deeply concerned about his survival in the harsh, cold environment. They searched for him but soon reached out to Kat Cavanaugh of Dog Gone Pet Recovery, an expert in finding missing pets.
Kat, a certified drone pilot, collaborated with SmithicAir, a company specializing in drone photography and videography. Together with Mike from SmithicAir, they embarked on a meticulous search using thermal imaging technology.
Eventually, they located Charlie, injured and hiding in tall grass. Kat later revealed that Charlie had a broken femur. In “survival mode,” a state where dogs become fearful and unrecognizing of even familiar faces, Charlie was reluctant to approach anyone, including his own family.
This is exactly what happened when Kate and David made their way to the location where Charlie had been found. Not only was Charlie hurt and frightened but he was close to a main road. It was a precarious situation and they needed to approach with caution.
Dog Gone Pet Recovery
Kat shared a follow-up video revealing the emotional moment Charlie recognizes his family is there to get him. Kat wrote in the video’s description, “I will admit, I was reluctant to post this footage. Charlie’s injury was severe (a broken femur, we later found out) and I didn’t want to upset anyone – I can still barely watch it without crying…I decided it was important to share the footage though, because it shows another side to pet rescue. The difficult, dangerous side.”
Kat explained, “Kate and David had been waiting for over 45 minutes when this video begins. Charlie was hesitant to come closer because dogs in survival mode often don’t immediately recognize their owners. That’s why we never chase.”
The family and Kat were thankful for the support and advice from Stacey Svob Medina of Lost Dogs of Illinois who provided calm directions to Kate and David until he was secure with them.
Charlie is now recovering after surgery at the vet and is home safe and sound with his family.
@abc7chicago The dog’s owners say Charlie went missing one week ago Monday after being let out on a foggy morning. The couple says they spent days trying to find him until they got help from one group using thermal technology. #news #dog #missingdog #rescue #crystallake #goodnews ♬ original sound – abc7chicago
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