Video guide
How a drone search for a missing pet works
Watch genuine aerial search footage and see how a professional drone search can support the search for a missing dog or cat. Learn why the last confirmed sighting matters, what pilots look for, and when thermal equipment may help.
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Genuine search footage. The pet was not located during this particular search.
- Searches begin with information about the pet, the last confirmed sighting and an assessment of the area.
- Searches are carried out by Drone Assisted pilots who hold the qualifications required for their flights and carry commercial drone insurance.
- Thermal searches depend on suitable conditions and equipment availability. Dense cover can obstruct visibility, and finding a pet is never guaranteed.
Read the video transcript
When a pet goes missing, knowing where to look matters.
A drone can help search open ground, field edges, and places that are difficult to cover on foot.
The search starts with the last confirmed sighting. The pilot checks the area, conditions, and whether a drone is suitable.
From above, small details can be easy to miss. The camera scans the terrain, and possible sightings need a closer check.
If an animal is spotted, its location and identifying features must be checked before it is confirmed as the missing pet.
A drone supports a coordinated ground search. It cannot see through dense tree cover, and finding a pet is never guaranteed.
Drone searches are carried out by Drone Assisted. Our pilots hold the qualifications required for each flight and carry commercial drone insurance.
Thermal drone searches are also available, subject to suitability and equipment availability. Thermal cameras use heat signatures to help identify possible animal sightings.
Visit PetSearch.uk to explore your search options and find out how we can help.
Last reviewed 23 October 2026
The search process explained
1. Tell us what has happened
- The type of pet, and a recent photograph.
- The last known location and the time the pet went missing.
- Any confirmed sightings since then.
- The terrain around the area.
- Behaviour and context that may matter, such as whether the pet is nervous of people.
2. Assess the search area
The quality of the information decides how tightly the area can be drawn. A confirmed sighting an hour ago produces a far more useful search area than a general idea of where a pet may have gone overnight.
3. Check whether a drone search is suitable
- Terrain and how much of the ground can be seen from above.
- Aerial visibility, including vegetation and canopy cover.
- Weather, wind and light conditions.
- Airspace restrictions covering the area.
- Nearby hazards, roads, livestock and people.
- The size of the area to be covered.
- Whether visual or thermal equipment is likely to help.
If the assessment shows an aerial search is unlikely to help, we say so rather than flying for the sake of it.
4. Match the search with suitable drone capability
Where a search is suitable, a professional pilot is allocated through the Drone Assisted network based on location and the equipment the search calls for.
Not every pilot carries thermal equipment, so a thermal search depends on a suitably equipped pilot being available for that area.
5. Plan the search
- Systematic coverage of the chosen area rather than random flying.
- Priority given to the areas the information points to first.
- Time allowed for investigating anything the pilot wants a closer look at.
6. Conduct the search
The pilot flies the planned pattern while watching a live visual or thermal feed, adjusting height and pace to suit the ground being covered.
7. Review potential sightings
A heat signature on its own does not identify an animal. Anything of interest usually needs a closer visual look, from the air or on the ground, before it can be treated as a sighting.
8. Communicate findings
You are told what was covered, what was seen and what was not possible to check. Where the search points to an area worth walking, that is passed on so ground searching can continue.
No search method can guarantee that a missing pet will be found.
Sources and further reading
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