Drone pilot helps rescue family's lost dog in Petaluma
Drone pilot helps rescue familys dog in Petaluma
A committed North Bay community helped reunited a lost dog with its family from Alaska. Drone technology also helped in this happy reunion.
PETALUMA, Calif. - An Alaskan family's tragedy was turned into triumph thanks to a committed community and an unlikely techno-wiz hero, all looking for a lost dog named Crash.
Imagine a pet lost out in the pitch dark night with predators making the search dangerous. Then comes a technological miracle.
On October 23rd, Crash, a medium-sized whippet - pit bull mix, got loose from a camping trailer in a KOA site in Petaluma.
For two days, Crash's Alaskan owners put on a desperate search for the shy, 11-year-old dog.
The search is on
They made flyers and distributed them along with posters over a large area, posted on social media, some of which went viral, and asked Petalumans to help.
"This Petaluma community came out and supported us like I couldn't believe. I have never felt so supported by a community. There were hundreds of people on foot walking around looking for him," said Natasha Falke, a paralegal and the dog's co-owner.
The next day, a man called with good news that he had found the dog. "We were so grateful. We felt really good. We got a phone call as we were on the way to the gentleman's house that Crash had gotten out again from them. So the worry started all over again, all over again," said E Hickok, a physiologist and dog co-owner.
Being Alaskans, they knew search and rescue teams use heat-detecting infrared drones to locate people. So, they called the unlikely hero, Jason Kwong, founder of San Francisco Drone Services.
"He was there helping spread the word. He was completely involved in the process. He was very empathetic dealing with our emotional situation," said Falke.
Technology to the rescue
The beauty of an infrared drone is that it doesn't need light at all. All it needs is body heat, whether that's a person or a little lost dog. And, out in a field where there are very few creatures, it's pretty easy to find the target.
By going to sightings the owners were gathering, Kwong used his skill and experience to find the beloved dog in a remote pasture.
"The infrared sensor will rule out a lot of things and you just kind of look for all the hot stones and start turning them over until you find the dog. I found him and Sarah kind of freaked out and I confirmed by making sure she looked at the controller screen and sure enough, there he was." said Kwong.
Kwong and the drone are an excellent team.
"The drone went to the perfect place after a sighting from a Petaluma resident and he was hiding out in a field, in a cow pasture and he was way out there, so we never would have be able to see him from the road," said Hickok.
What a success. "It was pretty much emotionally draining when I got home. It all hit me all at once," said Kwong. "In the world today, it's everything feeling like you have people behind you," said Hikok.
Crash, happy and warm tonight, has crashed for the night.
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