Drone rescue as pooch goes astray

WHEN Cherry the chihuahua vanished near an old coal mine after racing off to fetch a stick, her owner was heartbroken.

And after five fruitless days of searching the network of tunnels and caves, hope was fading for the former rescue dog.

That was until a local company offered to send up a drone fitted with a thermalimaging camera.

Within 20 minutes of take-off, the drone picked up Cherry’s dwindling body heat at the bottom of a former mining tunnel close to where she was last seen.

Rescue workers were sent in and Cherry was brought to the surface, tired, bruised and dirty but healthy.

Cherry’s owner had been determined to find her chihuahua pomeranian, which disappeared on a mountain near Abertillery in South Wales.

The dog belongs to Katinka Slingsby, an RSPCA animal care assistant, whose father had been throwing sticks for Cherry on a walk.

Slingsby rallied a team of more than 20 villagers to help find her pet.

But despite the efforts of the local caving club, villagers found no trace of the five-yearold dog.

Slingsby then came up with the brilliant idea of using the money raised to launch an eyein-the-sky search.

A Facebook page attracted almost 1 500 likes and a crowdfunding page raised £1 200 (R18 670) towards the hunt. When a local business heard, it volunteered to send one of its drones.

Cherry was found almost immediately and was pulled out of an 2.4m-deep hole by five firemen. She had lost a lot of weight and is thought to have survived by drinking puddles of rain water.

Although her family are delighted to have her back at their home in Pontypool, she has been “grounded” and is being kept on a lead for now.

Slingsby, 27, said: “It is absolutely amazing. It was overwhelming.

“I just want to say thank you as we couldn’t have found Cherry without the community and I’m so touched by everybody’s help.

She took Cherry to the vet, who confirmed she was healthy. – Daily Mail THERE’S no shortage of reasons to include dogs in your life: they love you no matter what; they help you stay active and be less stressed, and, if you happen to be the president, they might even boost your approval ratings.

But, after two months in the White House, President Donald Trump seems unpersuaded. The 45th president appears poised to become the first in well over a century to not have a dog or any pet, for that matter in the White House.

There was the fleeting possibility that Patton, a golden-doodle raised by Florida philanthropist Lois Pope, might join the Trump clan. But Pope ultimately decided she couldn’t bear to part with the dog. Just as well.

Trump told the New York Post his frequent jet-setting between Washington, New York and Florida wouldn’t accommodate a dog.

But his travel schedule might not be the only factor. Trump doesn’t appear to hold the highest regard for man’s best friend. In fact, one of his go-to insults is comparing someone to a dog: Ted Cruz was “choking like a dog”; Marco Rubio was “sweating like a dog”; other political targets, Trump has declared in various tweets and speeches, had been or should be fired “like a dog”.

There’s no sign that Trump’s position on dog ownership is likely to change and the White House has declined to comment. But political history offers some compelling reasons he should reconsider: 1. Dogs generate good press. 2. Not having a dog or not being nice to one raises suspicions.

3. Dogs bridge political division.

About 44% of US households Democrats, Republicans and everything in between include a dog. That common ground gives a president the rare opportunity to be seen as just another person who loves a dog. 4. Dogs lower stress. 5. Dogs are loyal. 6. A dog can’t talk to the press.

As the old refrain goes: “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” Given how Trump has emphasised loyalty, a canine companion might not be a terrible idea. – Washington Post