Off-the-shelf drones have transformed the# battlefield.

Now they are helpin 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 W 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 i 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 purchase particular model because of the thermal# very short supply at the moment.

So I was lucky,# luckily managed to g MALCOLM BRABANT: Shane Phillips# is a commercial drone pilot who## normally makes films, but volunteers for# se 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# ca 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 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 road 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 Shall I go and get John (ph)?

MAN: That's not a deer.

ERYL HOLT: No, it's not.

MALCOLM BRABANT: But t 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 MALCOLM BRABANT: Charlie is the best# friend Lydia David will ever have.

LYDIA DAVID: There was no way that we were# leaving that night wit awful experience to go through, one that I# wouldn't wish on anyone.

We just wante 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.

MALCOL Tim Smith spotted Lydia's SOS post in# a Facebook dog search-and-res TIM SMITH: A lot of people consider drones to be a## nuisance, but we actually use them# to 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, 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 hi 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.

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 ap 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 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 MALCOLM BRABANT: This is Douglas in# happier times near Elodie's home.

JOHN DAVIES, Pilot, Cornwall Search Dogs:# He's a 12-year-old c 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 t 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# ERYL HOLT: Hello, Xena.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Back 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.

SH ERYL HOLT: Oh, t SHANE PHILLIPS: No problem.

ERYL HOLT: Brilliant.

ERYL HOLT: Yes, hopefully never again MALCOLM BRABANT: But as Xena luxuriates in home# comforts 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