WAYLAND, Mich. —
Brian Alberda received many requests over the years asking if his deer-tracking bloodhounds could find lost pets. Although his dogs aren’t trained for that, he thought of something that could be.
Drones.
In the first two months of using his thermal drone, Lost Pet Drone Recovery found 22 dogs.
“I mean, I've tracked deer for many, many years,” Alberda, owner and operator of Lost Pet Drone Recovery said. "And you're always happy when you're able to help a hunter, but when you can help a pet owner recover their, their lost pet, there's, there's, there's not... I've not felt a better feeling than that.”
In the summertime, Alberda explained, that can be harder. When everything’s cold in the fall and winter months, something warm like a pet or livestock will light up on the thermal camera. But when everything’s warm in the summertime, that presents a challenge.
“I think we only found four dogs [this summer] because it's just the thermals with the leaves, the foliage you just can't penetrate that,” he said. “You can penetrate it, but you can't see what it is.”
It doesn’t stop Lost Pet Drone Recovery, though.
“They're family members, okay? And when you find somebody's, somebody's pet, okay, it's, it's, I mean, I've had, I've had grown men hug me,” he said. “You know, and [...] it is such a joy.”
One of the biggest misconceptions, Brian Alberda said, is that pets and livestock are found within minutes of sending a drone up. Alberda said he’s out for hours at a time.
Another misconception he finds people have is that when the animal is found on a drone, that’s it. He said dogs love to run, and he’s seen them run from owners when they are found. He works with trappers who capture the animals as safely as they can.
Sometimes, the outcome isn’t what the families expect. In those situations, Alberda said he offers his support.
“You know, we were able to bring closure. You know, ‘little fluffy is not out there anymore’ and so forth,” he said. "It's not the outcome you want, but at least there's closure.”
When the outcome is positive, he said every pet found makes him keep on going.
“Yeah, it's addicting, though, I can tell you that it's definitely addicting and very rewarding to do,” he said.
If your pet goes missing, Alberda suggests reaching out as soon as possible. Pets and livestock can travel far in a short amount of time, especially dogs.
Even though Facebook can be a great resource, Alberda said a common scam is people claiming they found a missing pet, and then stealing money from a grieving owner. Lost Pet Drone Recovery will never ask for money upfront, Alberda said.
Lost Pet Drone Recovery has information on how to get in contact with them on their Facebook, Lost Pet Drone Recovery.