CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio — Think of it like roadside assistance, but for lost pets. That’s the idea behind a Tri-State nonprofit picking up steam across the state.
“We started picking up dog rescues on the side,” said Todd May, a firefighter and Director of AFRS Emergency Drone Services. “Obviously, human life would pull us away from the dog rescues, so we wanted to find a way to build up the dog rescue portion.”
May launched FidoTracker in 2021. The organization allows panicked pet owners to call operators when their pets have gone missing. Drone pilots are usually on scene within an hour, May said, as long as they’re cleared to fly the area.
“There was a lot of people advertising online for pet rescues and the general public didn't know their qualifications or their success rate,” May said.
The organization's drones can fly in a variety of extreme weather conditions. The drones rely on thermal imaging to track mammals.
“Once we locate that heat signature, we zoom in on it to confirm that that's the dog that we're looking for,” May said. “We convert that to a map pin, and then we send it to the dog owner. That leads them right to the dog, normally within three to six feet.”
May estimates the organization’s success rate is about 70%.
He helped save Stephanie Dawes’s two dogs in December 2022. The dogs were connected on a double leash but broke free in Caesar Creek State Park hours before sub-zero temperatures moved in.
“I was just beyond upset and thought that there was no way that they could survive the night,” Dawes said.
She posted a plea on Facebook, which is where May connected with her.
“He called me at like 3 a.m. and was like, ‘I have some equipment that might help,’” she said.
May said drone pilots searched for about five hours before locating the dogs.
“They were in this brush thicket,” she said. “There's no way we would have been able to see them without the drone.”
The service costs members $8 a month. Initially, May provided the service for free, but costs became too high. While fees cover bills, most pilots still fly for the organization as volunteers.
The organization currently serves members in Adams, Brown, Clermont, Clinton, Highland, Fayette, Greene, Ross and Pike counties.
“You don't understand until it happens to you,” said drone pilot Zander Parshall. “Your loved one is missing. Your pet goes missing. That's a family member that's missing.”
