Crystal Lake dog returns home with help of thermal drone technology

A family in Crystal Lake is breathing sighs of relief after their beloved dog, Charlie, was found Sunday.

It was a foggy and chilly morning when David Nowak let his family's three dogs outside, like he always does.

But this time, only two dogs returned.

"It was 6:00, I let the dogs out," Nowak explained. "He just took off. I start looking for him after five minutes. I lost him for just five minutes."

Charlie, the family's 2-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, had taken off on his own adventure.

His parents Kate Belmonte and Nowak think he must have been chasing an animal, or something, because this behavior was very unlike him.

"He's smart, he knows the area pretty well, and we just couldn't see him taking off," Kate Belmonte said. "It was devastating, it was so hard, we couldn’t sleep or do anything really."

Charlie was gone. No one had even seen him.  

Belmonte and Nowak made dozens of flyers and posted them all around the Crystal Lake community. Even their neighbors jumped in to help search for Charlie. But after several days, they hired professional help.

Kat Cavanaugh, the owner of Dog Gone Pet Recovery, was their first call.  Cavanaugh said she searched for three days with no luck of spotting Charlie.

By Sunday, Cavanaugh referred the couple to a colleague, Mike Smith of Smithic Air.

Using drones, thermal technology and high-powered video, Cavanaugh and Smith found Charlie on Day 7.

"There is a lot of luck involved with this," Smith explained. "We have to fly over the pet to find the pet."

Charlie was found hiding in a wooded area less than a mile from home. Veterinarians think he was hit by a car, because he was found hiding with a broken femur.

Charlie underwent surgery to fix his leg on Monday.

"The moment he was walking to us, we both just started ugly crying and had our arms out," Belmonte said. "It was just the best feeling ever."

Charlie is expected to return home to Crystal Lake on Tuesday evening.