4-month-old puppy lost in snowy forest found with thermal imaging drone, NY rescuers say

A 4-month-old dog had been missing for three days in New York until a drone found him, rescuers said.

The owner of a German shepherd named Max called North Country Drone Search and Recovery saying his dog was missing out in the cold, according to a Facebook post by the rescue team.

The Matrice 30T thermal drone got charged up and Chad Tavernia, the drone operator, according to WKTV, went to Ellenburg to search for Max, the team said.

“I have the ability to search for animals, in this case, lost pets via a drone that can sense their body heat,” Tavernia told WKTV.

About 45 minutes of searching the Adirondack forest area later, the drone user found a “heat signature of interest,” officials said.

Max was eventually found “curled up, bedded at the base of some trees in a very dense area of the forest,” officials said.

Max’s owner was contacted, and he was able to be reunited with his pup, the team said.

“Pretty much, as soon as the dog knew he was there, the dog ran up and was kissing him and stuff for a couple of minutes,” Tavernia told WKTV. “It was very rewarding to find somebody’s dog who, you know, may not have made it out if it wasn’t for that little drone in the air.”

Ellenburg is near the U.S.-Canada border, about 180 miles north of Albany.

This story was originally published February 8, 2024 at 4:16 PM with the headline "4-month-old puppy lost in snowy forest found with thermal imaging drone, NY rescuers say."