What to look for and what to lookout for!
Things that you WANT to see:
All Thermal Drone Pilots doing Search and Rescue work are required by Federal Law to have an FAA Part 107 Commercial Drone Pilots License. Ask to see a copy of their license.
A modern All-Weather Thermal Drone is a must-have item. Using a regular non-thermal drone to try to locate a lost dog is nearly impossible.
You want to hire a pilot that has a solid history of locating and rescuing lost dogs. Any good pilot will have evidence of successful rescues in the form of videos and / or pictures, such as a YouTube page or similar.
Most successful pilots carry Commercial Drone Insurance.
Pilots should be spending a significant amount of time on the phone with you going over the situation of how the dog got away, recent sightings, proposed launch sites, weather conditions and other factors well prior before coming out to do the search.
Even the best Thermal Drones do not work well in hot and sunny weather. The best weather to do a Thermal Drone search for a lost pet is overcast or at night or early morning. In the Fall and Winter, you can get away with searching on sunny days as the sun is a lot less bright. A professional pilot understands what weather works for a good search and what doesn’t. No professional pilot would come out on a hot and sunny day as there would be nearly no chance of finding your lost dog.
Honesty is key. Professional pilots never make promises they cannot guarantee. They will tell you what they think the odds of a successful rescue are based on many circumstances, and in some cases, they may even recommend against hiring them.
Good pilots will have many good reviews from prior happy dog owners that they have had successful rescues with. Ask to see those reviews, and if needed, ask to get in touch directly with prior customers.
Things that should make you concerned:
No pilots license (this means that the pilot would be doing an illegal search)
Not spending any time asking questions and doing prep over the phone prior to coming out
Offering to come out and do a search on a hot and sunny day
Not having a Thermal Drone
Telling you that they will 100% find and rescue your dog (or an extremely high percentage.) No professional pilot will ever tell you that. There was a local drone company recently telling customers in writing that they had an “80% success rate,” when in reality they had NEVER had a successful rescue. While people like this are far and few between, be weary of such promises.
No (or little) video or photographic evidence of successful rescues
Contacting you (soliciting) and using pressure sales tactics to encourage you to hire them. Saying things like “your dog might not make it through the night.” Good pilots work entirely on their reputation and do not solicit anyone.