04/02/2026
Last night was one of those searches I won’t forget.
Star, a 15-pound dog, had been missing for a full week. She had gotten away about 30 minutes from home, and by the time I got the call, the odds felt almost impossible. A dog that small, gone that long, that far from home... there was just almost no room for optimism.
We searched for 2.5 hours with the thermal drone and covered a huge amount of ground.
Sure enough, she was in one of those spots I had marked as high probability, hidden under some thick trees.
That’s where this video starts.
Her caretaker made his way over and, with a lot of difficulty, got himself over a fence and to within about 75 feet of Star. But she got spooked and ran.
That could have been the moment everything fell apart.
Instead, I stayed on her with the drone and guided him exactly where she went. He had to climb back over, work his way around to the front of the house, and there she was again — on the front porch.
Then he did exactly what he needed to do.
He sat down about 25 feet away. He didn’t look at her. He gently shook a bag of food and tossed a few treats.
And then he waited.
Sure enough, Star came to him.
After a week missing, after miles of searching, and after odds that felt next to nothing, Star was safely recovered.
These are the nights that stick with you.
