Browncoat Drone Services

07/28/2024

07/22/2024

Arty is home! Dog owners, please read for a real-life example of how to take care in approaching a lost dog.

After escaping from his boarder's house 3 1/2 days ago, this morning Artemis is SAFE!! His owners cut their vacation short as soon as they heard that he was missing, and they headed straight to where he got lost. Fliers were made, friends jumped in and posted all over social media. Pete Storm of Browncoat Drone Services was contacted to do a drone search. One of their friends contacted us and we gave advice, but were not able to get fully involved until yesterday (we've got several cases going on right now, one which is proving to be horribly time consuming, and the dog is just not cooperating!). Pete was out yesterday morning with his drone, but the weather was not cooperating. First, it was too foggy. After waiting a few hours for the fog to burn off, the sun became too intense for the drone search. Thermal imaging cameras are used (because you can't see anything through the trees if using a regular camera). So, they pick up the heat/temperature changes within their view. When the temps are as hot as they have been, you get a lot of "false positives". So, Pete packed up his toys and went home. But, one great thing about Pete is that he is also MARN trained in lost pet rescue, just like Laura and I! (As well as Bob Swenson and his team with Lost Animal Resource Group - LARG, and Carmen Butler with Professional Pet Trackers!!) So, we ALWAYS coach the owners about calming signals, and the do's and don'ts of searching so that you are not actually pushing the dog away. And when the owners were not hanging signs or driving around looking for Arty, they were doing more research about the "calming signals" that Pete and Laura and I were telling him about (and likely others on social media were telling them, too). But, as with anything, you can read and study and listen all that you want, but when the time comes to actually use the information, many times your emotions cause it to all fly out of the window. And that almost happened this morning. The owner received a real-time sighting of Arty in the woods, about 2 miles from where he was last seen. It so happened that the owner was currently on that same street, driving around and looking! He called me right away to tell me that there was another sighting. I asked when the dog was seen, and he said "seconds ago!". And then....."I see him! He's at the wood line!" I could hear his excitement building, and at that point my job was to reel his emotions in and talk him through this. He stopped his truck and got out and starting calling to Arty. I nixed that very quickly! Arty responded just as I knew he would -- he ran into the trees. That's when the owner realized that we were all right -- his dog did not recognize him! I got the owner to sit on the ground and we started talking -- how old is Arty? What is Arty's favorite thing to eat? He answered "Arty loves treats", and "Arty is a good boy", and using words that Arty would recognize. He had treats in his truck, so he went to his truck to get them. He also had a squeaky toy (which Arty loves!). But, after he squeaked it quickly 3 times, I told him to stop, and not over do it. He slowly walked back to his sitting spot, and we continued to talk. Arty was now standing back at the tree line looking at him. The owner turned himself so that he wasn't facing Arty and continued to talk to me. And I had him occasionally squeak the toy, and toss it in the air and catch it. "He's coming towards me!" "Just stay calm, I can hear your excitement building and we don't want to push him away again." "Ok, ok". He continued to talk as Arty slowly approached. And then "I've got my hand on his collar!!" It took a few seconds longer for total recognition to hit and then "He's licking my face!". They hugged for a bit, and then he worked his way back to the truck with him. I told him that I was staying on the phone until he was safely in the truck with the doors and windows closed. Very soon, he was safe! And on the drive home, he fell asleep, using his owner's arm as a pillow. Phew!!

07/20/2024

Heads up around Lake Anna State Park area!

07/17/2024

Just a little fox fun.

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07/16/2024

07/16/2024

UPDATE: Reunited!

06/28/2024

Dog owners, plan for the 4th of July as more dogs go missing during this period than any other time of the year! It may be fun for us, but it can be a terrifying time for them. We'll be available to come out and fly before sunrise on July 5th to help you in a search around the Culpeper area if needed. Please make note of these tips from our friends at Professional Pet Trackers!

06/26/2024

EDIT: FOUND!

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06/20/2024

UPDATE: REUNITED! Smart pup found his way home a little before midnight!

Heads up Rixeyville/Culpeper folks! Last seen SW of Rixeyville itself potentially moving South.

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06/20/2024

The 4th of July is coming and it's NOT a fun time for our dog friends! Check out some tips from our friends at Professional Pet Trackers.

4th of July is 💥 𝟮 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞𝗦 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬‼️

𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝑰𝑮𝑯 𝑫𝑬𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆!

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱‼️

🐾 Check microchips

🐾 Call vet for meds (if needed)

🐾 Have a 𝗗𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗠 for all pets in your home

🐾 Don’t take your pets to fireworks 🧨 … they will be much happier & safer at home 🏠

06/19/2024

Solar panels not performing as they used to? Thermal drone inspections can pinpoint potential issues without ladders or disassembly!

06/19/2024

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06/15/2024

Excellent research project utilizing drones.

Iquitos, Peru cannot be reached by road because of its surrounding jungles and waters, leading to an unwelcome guest: Mosquitoes.

06/14/2024

UPDATE! Reunited!!!

——
Heads up anyone West of Warrenton. Area is NE of 211 and Leeds Manor Rd. Flying out there tomorrow at first light.

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06/12/2024

Such a great ending for this sweet pup! Was so happy to be involved in this search!

Murphys family in 𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗣𝗘𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥, 𝗩𝗔 are excited to have their girl home‼️

Murphy’s mom says: “We found her!!! We got back from airport and drove to where she was last seen, saw some people walking their dog and asked them if they had seen a lost dog. They said yes and told us what field she was in down a gravel road. Bob saw her first but she ran away and then we were just standing there talking to one of the neighbors and she must have circled back to spy on us and I saw her and called to her and she came running very happy to see us!!! She’s in good shape except for some cuts on her legs.

We found her and got her back home within 20 mins of looking for her!! After she had been missing for 5 days. It was such a relief!!

My takeaway
She was a relatively recent rescue ( end of April) and we left her with a dog sitter at our house. She left first chance she was able to go outside unsupervised for just a minute or two.
She’s an Australian Shepherd that doesn’t go to anyone except me or my husband so we needed to be there!!

She seems to have followed the text book pattern of setting up in a place to be trapped.

Signs and Neighbors calls were the key to us locating her and identifying where she was hanging out. I think the feral cat food at the landscaping company kept her grounded to that vicinity.

Thanks so much for all your help and guidance. It really helped knowing that you and Sam and Pete had the experience to know the behaviors to expect and you
All were spot on!!

We are very thankful!!!”

𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗥𝗣𝗛𝗬‼️

06/10/2024

𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗣𝗘𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥, 𝗩𝗔 is happy to report that Harley, the year & a half German Shepard is home safe after a 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗗𝗔𝗬 wilderness get away.

This was a total team effort withProfessional Pet Trackers Linda Shaw & 𝗞𝟵'𝘀 and Pete Storm from Browncoat Drone Services‼️

𝑇𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝘩𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘!!

06/06/2024

EDIT: REUNITED! Gotta love it when you're about mount the search light to the drone right at last light and the sweet boy comes running out of the darkness to his humans. Great, great feeling!

ATTENTION Culpeper people! Eyes open SW of Culpeper for a male German Shepherd.

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05/28/2024

Need to know where your forest is the most stressed? Multispectral analysis has the answers!

03/23/2024

I see you, Wile E. Coyote.