After going missing for nearly a week, Charlie, a 2-year-old Bernese mountain dog from Crystal Lake, has been reunited with his family and is recovering.
Charlie has become a McHenry County pet celebrity not only because neighbors and the community helped search for the missing pup, but because how he was found.
On Sunday – seven days after he went missing – Mike Smith of SmithicAir and Kat Cavanaugh of Dog Gone Pet Recovery found Charlie in a wooded area off of Huntley Road at Waterford Court, not far from his home and off a walking path there. To do it they searched from the air using a thermal, heat-sensing drone.
Using thermal imaging drone searches for missing pets “isn’t a miracle cure,” said Smith, of Bartlett. “It is really hard to search a neighborhood with all of the heat sources” that can throw up a false signal.
Charlie, a Bernese mountain dog, was found on Sunday, Jan. 5, after going missing on Dec. 30. He was found with the help of a thermal imaging drone, but had a broken leg, likely after being hit by a car. | Courtesy of Kate Belmonte
“His size helped my search,” Smith said. “I am looking for heat versus the environment. It was cold out, the ground was cold, the sun was not out. That made his thermal image large and easy to see.”
Charlie was in surgery on Monday afternoon. His rescuers believe Charlie was struck by a car sometime after he ran off. He had a broken femur when found but is expected to have a full recovery.
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