Missing Crystal Lake dog found safe thanks to drone technology – NBC Chicago

A Crystal Lake family is breathing sighs of relief after their beloved dog, Charlie, was found Sunday.

It was a foggy, cool morning when David Nowak left his family’s three dogs outside, as he always does.

But this time only two dogs returned.

“It was 6 p.m., I let the dogs out,” Nowak said. “It just took off. I start looking for it after five minutes. I only lost it for five minutes.”

Charlie, the family’s 2-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, was off on his own adventure.

His parents, Kate Belmonte and Nowak, think he must have been chasing an animal or something, because this behavior wasn’t at all like him.

“He’s smart, he knows the area pretty well and we just didn’t see him taking off,” Kate Belmonte said. “It was devastating, it was so hard we couldn’t really sleep or do anything.”

Charlie was gone. Nobody had even seen him.

Belmonte and Nowak made dozens of flyers and posted them all over the Crystal Lake community. Even their neighbors stepped in to help search for Charlie. But after several days, they hired professional help.

Kat Cavanaugh, the owner of Dog Gone Pet Recovery, was their first call. Cavanaugh said she searched for three days and was unable to locate Charlie.

On Sunday, Cavanaugh referred the couple to a colleague, Mike Smith of Smithic Air.

Using drones, thermal technology and high-power video, Cavanaugh and Smith found Charlie on the seventh day.

“There’s a lot of luck involved in this,” Smith said. “We have to fly over the animal to find it.”

Charlie was found hiding in a wooded area less than a mile from his home. Vets believe he was hit by a car, as he was found hiding with a broken femur.

Charlie had surgery to repair his leg on Monday.

“The moment he walked towards us, we both started crying and put our arms out,” Belmonte said. “It was just the best feeling ever.”

Charlie is expected to return home to Crystal Lake Tuesday evening.