08/16/2026
Friday morning at 8:00 AM, a text came in from Lauren.
She was vacationing in Dewey Beach with her husband, her three children, and their dog, Vinny. Somehow, while the family was out, Vinny escaped from their hotel room.
When they returned, reports were already coming in. Vinny had been seen running through the property, up and down Coastal Highway — and then suddenly, nothing.
He vanished.
The last clue was an AirTag ping from a remote section of beach just off Coastal Highway.
Ashley and Jim immediately began gathering information, studying maps, helping create and distribute flyers, and putting together a search plan. Lauren's family eventually had to head home because their rental was ending, but Lauren wasn't ready to give up. She secured a rental car, found clothing to protect herself from the sun and biting insects, and continued searching the beach for Vinny.
Almost exactly 12 hours after that first text, we met Lauren.
It was dark. A light rain had just fallen.
For a thermal drone search, the conditions couldn't have been much better.
We began working systematic search paths through the remote beach area. There were foxes, deer, rabbits — and plenty of vegetation. Although there were no tall trees, there was thick cedar, pine, holly, and bayberry which made the search difficult by blocking thermal signatures.
About an hour into the search, Jim noticed something that looked different. We worked the drone into position, slowly maneuvering for a better view through the brush.
And there he was!
VINNY 🤗 ❤️
But finding him was only the beginning.
A seasonal Delaware Parks employee had noticed our equipment and came to see what we were doing. She returned later—just as we found Vinny—and offered to help get Ashley and Lauren closer to his location.
They drove onto the beach, climbed the massive sand dune, and began their descent down. From there, Lauren went in alone.
Slow. Calm. Steady.
Jim kept eyes on Vinny from the drone while guiding Lauren through the thick brush. They stayed in constant radio contact. Lauren had a location pin generated from the drone, but getting through the vegetation was incredibly difficult.
At one point, Jim could see that Vinny had turned toward Lauren.
He didn't run.
Lauren kept moving.
Slow. Calm. Steady.
And eventually, she closed the gap.
She could see him.
She carefully approached.
"I GOT HIM!" 👏👏
She finally had her boy.
It had taken almost an hour to reach him. Vinny was severely dehydrated, covered in bug bites, and unable to walk. He would have to be carried out.
Lauren initially tried to make her way toward the road, but the route was blocked by swamp. She had no choice but to turn back toward the beach. Ashley and two park rangers went back into the beach area to help.
Ashley was directed to stand at the top of the sand dune with a flashlight, creating a point of contact in the darkness while the others entered the thick brush.
Using the drone, Jim was the eyes in the sky that lead the rangers to Lauren and Vinny.
Together, the three of them took turns carrying Vinny out. And finally, he was safe. We immediately made a bed out of clothing in the back of the truck and gave Vinny ice to lick to help combat the dehydration.
Lauren had lost her rental car keys in the thick brush but luckily a friend was nearby and was able to take Mom & Vinny to an emergency veterinarian, where he was treated for dehydration, a fractured leg, cuts and scratches, an injured paw, and hundreds — possibly thousands — of infected bug bites. But he was alive.
We followed shortly after with all of Lauren's belongings from the rental car. We absolutely needed to see her and our boy.
When we arrived, we immediately dropped down to give Vinny all the love and, in true Pittie fashion, he soaked all of it in.
The important piece of this rescue is that Lauren never stopped looking for him. There is something incredibly powerful about a mother's love.
Lauren was separated from her human family, far from home, exhausted, fighting the heat, insects, darkness, and uncertainty—but she kept searching.
Because somewhere out there was a member of her family who needed her.
A mother's love doesn't quit 💕
We also want to recognize the two seasonal Delaware Park Rangers who went far beyond simply doing their jobs to help bring Vinny out of that remote beach area.
And thank you to the hundreds of people who shared flyers, searched, checked in, and reported sightings. Every share, every set of eyes, and every bit of information mattered.
We are incredibly grateful that this story had a happy ending ❤️🐾
But we also want to be honest about what thermal drone searches can — and cannot — do.
Not every search ends this way.
Sometimes a lost pet is picked up by someone trying to help. Sometimes they're outside the search area. Thick tree canopy, heavy vegetation, buildings, and other obstacles can completely block a thermal signature.
A thermal drone is another tool in the toolbox — not a magical solution and never a guarantee.
But under the right conditions, it can be an incredible tool.
For Vinny, on that dark, rainy night in Dewey Beach, it made all the difference 🐾
