How volunteer drone operators found thousands of lost dogs in Britain

Nick Schifrin:

Finally tonight, finding Fido by drone.

Off-the-shelf drones have transformed the battlefield. Now they are helping reunite us with Man's best friend, as special correspondent Malcolm Brabant saw in Southern England.

Malcolm Brabant:

We have just driven for about two-and-a-half-hours across the English countryside in Southern England to a village called Wonston in the county of Hampshire, and we're joining people looking for a black Labrador called Xena, who's 1-year-old and who has been missing for a few days.

The drone pilots have been up. There have been some positive sightings, but Xena is a bit nervous, and she took flight and disappeared. And there's only about an hour to go before nightfall.

We're following actress Eryl Holt, who became Xena's owner a month ago after the young Labrador was rejected as a gun dog because she was easily spooked.

Eryl Holt, Dog Owner:

Unfortunately, somebody came round to visit, and they had a very high-pitched voice, a very bumptious dog, and I think it was just the last straw for her.

And I suddenly turned around, and I went, where's the dog?

Malcolm Brabant:

Earlier, the area was scanned by a drone that can detect the body heat of a scared puppy or an invading infantryMan.

Shane Phillips The Hampshire Drone Company:

The Ukrainian government have purchased this particular model because of the thermal capabilities. So, I have heard they're in very short supply at the moment. So I was lucky, luckily Managed to get one about a year ago.

Malcolm Brabant:

Shane Phillips is a commercial drone pilot who normally makes films, but volunteers for search-and-rescue when the call comes.

Shane Phillips:

Dogs tend to hide in quite dense undergrowth. They're never usually out in the open.

But with the drone, especially with thermal capabilities, you can clearly open very quickly. We can scan this whole field area here in a matter of seconds. And at least we can say, there's no dog here, and you can focus your efforts elsewhere.

Eryl Holt:

I'm very frightened for her, really,because she doesn't know this part of the country at all. She's only 1. This is just the perfect place for her to be, because there are no main roads around here at all.

But if she was to stray further, we have got really, really busy roads. There's a railway line.

Malcolm Brabant:

As the light fades fast, a farmer's convinced that he's spotted the Labrador.

Eryl Holt:

It's definitely her.

Man:

I think I can see her.

Eryl Holt:

Yes, I know. I can too.

Shall I go and get John (ph)?

Man:

That's not a deer.

Eryl Holt:

No, it's not.

Malcolm Brabant:

But the animal was a muntjac, a small deer about the same size as a dog. Xena faced her third night alone, while her owner endured a tumult of anxiety and hope.

Similar emotions flowed at the biggest reservoir in North Wales, when a dog walker's idyllic country stroll went pear-shaped. Her charge, Charlie (ph), a venerable spaniel, suddenly vanished into thin air.

Lydia David, Dog Owner:

As the evening went on and the night drew in, we became more and more anxious that we weren't going to find Charlie.

Malcolm Brabant:

Charlie is the best friend Lydia David will ever have.

Lydia David:

There was no way that we were leaving that night without him. It was an awful experience to go through, one that I wouldn't wish on anyone. We just wanted to get him back to where he belonged, back to the people that loved him, back to safety.

Tim Smith, Pilot, Drone SAR For Lost Dogs U.K.:

Launching.

Malcolm Brabant:

Cometh the hour, cometh the drone pilot.

Tim Smith spotted Lydia's SOS post in a Facebook dog search-and-rescue group.

Tim Smith:

A lot of people consider drones to be a nuisance, but we actually use them to find lost dogs. And around here, particularly in the weather conditions in North Wales, a lost dog can be in a lot of trouble.

Malcolm Brabant:

The odds weren't encouraging.

Tim Smith:

Charlie was deaf, blind and almost lame, so a very elderly dog to start with. Nobody could understand what had happened, because we covered the land, and we actually flew over where Charlie was, and nobody saw him.

Malcolm Brabant:

But then the dog Walker pointed to the place where Charlie disappeared. Tim reached for his thermal camera. The white dot in the middle shows Charlie trapped on the water's edge.

Woman:

Got him. I have got him.

(CROSSTALK)

Woman:

I have got him.

Woman:

I have got him.

Woman:

Charlie. Charlie.

Lydia David:

We're so incredibly lucky that Tim saw that post that night, that he was able and happy to come out and help us. Everyone did as much as they could, and that's what got Charlie back home safe to us.

Tim Smith:

I came away on an incredible high. Yes, I'm still buzzing.

Malcolm Brabant:

These are just some of the dogs who've gone missing in the past couple of weeks. Every day, on average, there are 10 new appeals to track down a four-legged friend.

The group can call on 2,500 drone pilots. And, to date, they have reunited nearly 3,000 dogs with their families. Hope is running out in Cornwall in Southwest England, a landscape pitted with abandoned tin and copper mines.

Douglas went missing after his owner went for a run.

Elodie Sparrow, Dog Owner:

I had him since I was, I think, 10 years old. And so he's basically grown up with us as kids.

Malcolm Brabant:

Elodie Sparrow is a student of Mandarin and bereft.

Elodie Sparrow:

He's been through really hard times in our life, and he's been such a comfort. And he's definitely a big part of the family.

Malcolm Brabant:

This is Douglas in happier times near Elodie's home.

John Davies, Pilot, Cornwall Search Dogs:

He's a 12-year-old cocker spaniel. And he is quite infirm. And he's blind and probably is hard of hearing.

Malcolm Brabant:

John Davies is a former police dog handler who takes to the air when the ground trail goes cold.

John Davies:

They're hiding. They're probably in the feral dog syndrome, the wild syndrome that they go into after a time of being out of their family. They're scared. They're frightened. They want to hunker down.

Alas, at this point, we actually haven't found Douglas.

Elodie Sparrow:

It feels really strange not to have him with us, but, also, it's horrible to have to worry about what could have happened to him.

Eryl Holt:

Hello, Xena.

Malcolm Brabant:

Back in Hampshire, after missing for 3.5 days, Xena made her own way back home, lured by a pile of scented clothes, including Eryl's husband's dirty underwear.

Eryl Holt:

We have got Xena home at last, which is really, really fantastic. She's very tired, and she's had a good meal. And now she's just nodding off on her favorite sofa.

Thank you.

Shane Phillips:

No problem at all.

Eryl Holt:

Oh, thank you so much, honestly.

Shane Phillips:

No problem.

Eryl Holt:

Brilliant.

Shane Phillips:

Any time, hopefully never again.

Eryl Holt:

Yes, hopefully never again

Malcolm Brabant:

But as Xena luxuriates in home comforts, spare a thought for those lost forever.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in Southern England.

Nick Schifrin:

May every lost dog find his or her way back to the Thanksgiving table tonight.