A teenage girl fought back tears and headed straight into the bushes when a rescuer used a thermal imaging drone to locate her beloved dog, who had been missing for five days.
An emotional Jazelle Stovall, 15, from Covington, Kentucky, shouted out her dog Frank’s name and “I’m sorry” as she headed in to collect her pooch.
According to rescuer Danny Reaves, of Reaves Recovery and Rescue, Frank and his owners were on a walk when a vehicle made a loud noise that spooked the three-year-old mini golden doodle.
Frank ran off, taking his retractable lead with him, and when his owners had no luck locating the dog on foot, they called on Danny’s help after a couple of days.
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Reaves Recovery and Rescue specializes in locating lost dogs from the air, and Danny explained that dogs who get loose with leashes still attached often get stuck in trees in the woods.
He hatched a plan to head along a nearby river as far as he could, and on the way back, the 36-year-old’s thermal imaging drone picked up the body of an animal.
When the camera switched to regular viewing mode, Danny and Jazelle were left with the image of Frank, who was hidden behind a large brush pile that nobody could see.
Danny kept the drone on the trapped dog, and when he and Jazelle got nearby, he let the teenager approach —a technique that the rescuer always used to avoid spooking the dog.
When Jazelle saw that it was Frank, she headed into the bushes to share a tearful reunion with her pooch.
The moment took place on March 16, and Danny later shared a video of Jazelle’s reunion online, which received hundreds of thousands of views.
He said: “The emotions that came out were something I’ve never felt before doing this.
“I have found a lot of missing pets with these drones, but never has one meant anything like this to me.
“I have seen a lot of happy tears happen but when she was apologizing to Frank it was the most heartwarming moment that I’ve ever been a part of.
“I’m so glad I videoed the moment, as this way everyone can enjoy this moment cause it’s well worth sharing.
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“Just thinking about it again is giving me goose bumps.
“It’s a moment I will never be able to forget the rest of my life.
“The response has been amazing.
“The community and everyone who has seen the video has absolutely loved it.
“There are so many comments of people crying and saying they needed to see this moment as they were having a bad day and that’s what it is about.
“That’s why I shared this moment: because it’s about putting smiles on people’s faces – everyone deserves it when they see this.”
