Woman Uses Drone to Reunite Owners With Lost Pets

A dog lover in Clayton, Yorkshire, has been hailed a hero for using her drone to reunite families with their lost pups. Erica Hart believes she’s rescued more than 200 dogs in the last seven years. She started a Facebook group called ieye drone where users share lost dog posts and Erica heads to missing pups’ last known location to try to locate them. She shares the happy endings on her page.

When a pet owner contacts Hart, she meets them near the last location they were spotted and uses the drone to guide them to their pet. People also post sightings of loose dogs and Hart heads there to help round them up so they can eventually be reunited with their owner. “Once that drone’s above the dog, it’s not going anywhere because I can guide people in quick enough. It’s like a military operation.”

She doesn’t charge any money for the service and says she does it purely for the love of dogs – even if it means spending money on fuel for her car instead of treating herself. “I’ve gone without stuff for myself to put petrol in the car to find a dog. When I post the happy ending on Facebook and I see the comments I lay in bed with a smile on my face and realize why I do it.”

Hart’s work has saved countless animal lives and often, she’s able to quickly cover ground that would take hours for a traditional search team which can make the difference between a safe recovery and a tragic loss.