An injured dog that went missing for seven days has been found by a drone operator.
Charlie, a two-year-old Bernese Mountain dog, unexpectedly ran off during a foggy morning walk.
His devastated owners, Kate Belmonte and her fiancée David Nowak, spent several days searching for the missing pooch.
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But he was nowhere to be found.
David said: “It was 6am, I let the three dogs out and he just took off.
“I lost him in just five minutes.”
Kate said the dog must have chased an animal as it was very unlike him to run away.
She said: “He’s smart, he knows the area pretty well and we just couldn’t see him taking off.
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“It was devastating, it was so hard, we couldn’t sleep or do anything really.”
When their search failed to yield any results, they decided to contact the Dog Gone Pet Recovery service in Lake Villa, near Chicago, Illinois, US.
The company used a thermal drone to scour the area for signs of Charlie who vanished on 30 December.
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Company owner Kat Cavanaugh said they spent three days searching for the missing dog before referring the couple to a colleague, Mike Smith of Smithic Air.
Cavanaugh and Smith found Charlie using drones with thermal technology and high-powered video on 5 January.
The dog was discovered hiding in a wooded area less than a mile from the family’s home.
A video shows the moment the drone finds Charlie in the long grass as the couple bursts into tears in the background.
David exclaims: “We got him, oh my god we got him!”
Smith explained: “There is a lot of luck involved with this, we have to fly over the pet to find the pet.”
David stated: “It’s just unbelievable technology, and pretty much without this, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think we would be able to find him.”
Kate said: “He was in this kind of park, a walking trail area, off in some tall grass and broken-down trees.
“He was hiding there.
“The moment he was walking to us, we both just started ugly crying and had our arms out.”
She added: “It was just the best feeling ever.”
The couple said they are grateful their dog was able to survive in the cold weather for seven days.
He was found with a broken femur and vets suspect he was hit by a car, as reported by What’s The Jam.
He underwent surgery on his broken leg on Monday (6 Jan).
Charlie is now recovering from his ordeal at home.
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