OPERATION CHIHUAHUA
Dog lost for 5 days rescued by heat-detecting drone
Survived on puddles of rain water
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 thermal imaging 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.
Katinka Slingsby, an RSPCA animal care assistant, heard the news from her father, who had been throwing sticks for Cherry on a walk.
Miss 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-year-old dog.
Miss Slingsby then came up with the brilliant idea of using the money raised to launch an eye-in-the-sky search.
A Facebook page attracted almost 1,500 likes and a crowdfunding page raised £1,200 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 8ft-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.
Miss 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. Miss Slingsby said: ‘She’s a bit bruised and tired obviously but the vet was amazed how well she was.’
The area where Cherry disap- peared is characterised by jagged hills and small, hidden holes, and is a common spot for dogs to go missing. Miss Slingsby said: ‘We think Cherry got stuck because she was so small. Other dogs are able to jump out of the holes but she didn’t stand a chance.’ She added: ‘Animals are my life, I work with them and spend my spare time with them. We are so grateful that we have Cherry back.’
The £1,200 raised online was not needed as the company offered the drone for free. Miss Slingsby has offered to refund it or donate it to charity.
John Larkin, from Resource Group Unmanned Aviation Services, which provided the drone, said: ‘We are delighted to have been able to reunite Cherry with her owner.’
He added: ‘This just goes to show the widespread applications of drone technology, from aerial inspection and surveying to search and rescue situations.’