Start to finish
From the phone call to the aircraft in the air, and what it can properly see
On the day
What happens once you call
- Step 1
The call
Where the dog was last seen, roughly when, and what the ground is like there. That is enough to start moving, and it takes two minutes on the phone.
- Step 2
Area and access checked
The search area, a lawful take-off point and any airspace restrictions get checked before the aircraft leaves the ground. Where the search crosses private farmland or woodland, landowner permission is sorted at the same time.
- Step 3
A planned search pattern
The aircraft works outward from the last known location in a methodical pattern rather than a random sweep, covering the open ground, hedge lines, field margins and woodland edges around it first.
- Step 4
Thermal or daylight, whichever the moment needs
In poor light, dawn, dusk or after dark, the thermal camera goes up. In good daylight the 100 megapixel visual camera does the work instead, close enough to check a distant shape properly rather than guess at it.
- Step 5
Live updates by phone
What the camera is seeing gets passed to you as it happens, so you or whoever is nearest on the ground can move on a sighting within minutes rather than waiting for the flight to end.
- Step 6
A plain close
At the 2 hour mark, or sooner if the ground has particularly been covered, you get a plain account of what was searched, what was seen and what was not, and whether continuing at the hourly rate is actually worth it.
The report
What you get during and after the search
Live sighting calls
Anything the camera picks up that could be the dog gets called through straight away, with a location you or someone nearby can act on immediately.
Thermal contrast
A warm body reads clearly against cooling ground in the low light windows where thermal works hardest, which is when most searches actually run.
High resolution daylight imagery
Close enough to tell a dog from a sheep, a fox or a shadow at real distance, rather than a guess from a blurry frame.
A covered-ground summary
A plain account of what area was actually searched, so the people walking on foot know where has already been checked from the air and where has not.
What could not be assessed
Dense woodland canopy, ground the aircraft legally could not fly over, or conditions that beat the thermal camera get named plainly rather than quietly left out.
A clear next step
Whether to keep flying at the hourly rate, stand the aircraft down and keep searching on foot, or widen the area, decided with you rather than assumed.
Why speed is the whole point
A dog covers ground fast in the first few hours and then, more often than not, settles somewhere and stops moving as much. Flying early, while the search area is still small and the dog may still be moving, covers far more useful ground than flying the same two hours a day later over an area that has grown past what any search can realistically cover.
Weather and rules
When a drone really helps, and when it does not
Open ground
Farmland, moor, woodland edges, coast paths, quarries and large gardens are where this works best. The aircraft covers a field in minutes and sees straight down into corners and along hedge lines that nobody on foot gets a clear view of.
First and last light
Cold, still conditions are when thermal works hardest. A body's heat shows clearly against ground that has been cooling since sunset or has not yet warmed after a cold night, in a way it does not at midday in summer.
Dense woodland canopy
Full leaf cover blocks the camera as completely as it blocks a view from the ground. If the search area is mostly closed broadleaf woodland in leaf, flying is unlikely to add much, and that gets said plainly.
A dog that is hiding and still
A search from above relies on movement or a clear heat signature. A frightened dog curled up under a hedge or deep in undergrowth can present neither, which makes it notably harder to find from the air than a dog that is moving.
Mild nights and weather limits
A mild night where the ground has not cooled much weakens thermal contrast. Heavy rain ruins the camera the same way it ruins any lens, and high wind stops the aircraft flying safely or steadily enough to search properly.
Built up streets
Dense residential streets and town centres are a job for people, CCTV and the police before they are a drone job. Where a search runs along a town's park and allotment edges into open ground, that is a different case and worth a call.
Before you book
Common questions
- How much does it cost?
- £200 fixed, covering up to 2 hours of searching. Beyond 2 hours, an hourly rate applies, agreed with you before we carry on. No callout charge hidden underneath it.
- How fast can you get in the air?
- Usually the same day, where daylight, weather and airspace allow. Ring with the last known location and roughly when the dog went missing, and you get a straight answer about timing straight away.
- Do you fly at night?
- Where the thermal camera has something to work with, yes. Cold, still conditions and low ambient temperature are what make a warm body stand out clearly. A mild night weakens that contrast, and that gets said plainly before the aircraft goes up.
- What ground do you cover best?
- Open ground: farmland, moor, woodland edges, coast paths, quarries and large gardens. Dense woodland canopy in full leaf and built up streets are especially harder, and that gets said plainly rather than glossed over.
- Is this instead of calling the police or a rescue?
- No. We are not a rescue, and the police, your local dog warden and DogLost-type lost-and-found groups still need telling. A drone search works alongside that, not instead of it.
- Can you search farmland or woodland that is not mine?
- Yes, once the landowner has agreed. That permission is usually the thing that actually slows a search down, so it is worth starting on the phone as early as possible.
- Do you promise to find the dog?
- No. Nobody can promise that, and it would be a cruel thing to say during someone's worst hour. What is on offer is a competent, insured search with a thermal camera and a pilot who knows the terrain, covering ground fast.
- What do I need to have ready?
- The last confirmed sighting with a time and a place, a recent photo, the dog's name, and whether it tends to run from people or freeze and hide. A collar, tag or microchip detail also matters, for whoever picks the dog up once it is found.
See how a search works
Fixed price, call now with Missing Dog Search
Tell us the last known location and when. Sam Hembury will come back with a fixed price and, where conditions allow, be in the air the same day.