BILLINGS — A Billings man is putting drone technology to work for pet owners, using thermal cameras and high-powered zoom to locate missing animals from the sky.
Curtis McBride knows firsthand how stressful it can be to lose a pet and after exhausting traditional search methods, he decided to try something different.
"I put up posts. I used Ring cameras and things like that, reached out to the community, searched myself," McBride said Monday.
Watch Curtis McBride talk about his pet operation:
That experience led him to launch a pet-finding operation using a drone equipped with a thermal camera.
"I detect heat signatures. And then when I find something of the relative size, I have a 56x hybrid optical zoom so I can get in pretty close for confirmation," McBride said.
The process is more involved than simply flying a drone over a neighborhood. McBride begins each search by gathering information from the pet's owner.
"Asking a series of questions, finding out the proper pattern, last known locations, and then building an appropriate grid to go find that pet. Sometimes 10 acres, sometimes more," McBride said.
McBride says the goal is to use the tools he has in a way that benefits others.
"When you have unique toys, I think that it's important to be a part of the community in a positive way and use those tools outside of a normal box," McBride said.
The need for services like his is clear. The Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter takes in anywhere from 1 to 10 stray animals daily.
Izzy Zalenski, a shelter spokeswoman, said the shelter has received more than 190 stray animals since moving into its current building on Jan. 10.
Zalenski also offered tips for keeping pets from getting out in the first place.
"Double-checking your latches, double-checking any holes under fences. Stuff like that truly also makes a difference," Zalenski said.
Zalenski believes this technology fills a gap, particularly in rural and rugged areas where traditional searches fall short.
"The right technology and right equipment and just knowing what you're looking for, I think, will definitely make a difference when it comes to finding those lost animals in the more wild parts of the city," Zalenski said.
For McBride, the mission comes down to offering something pet owners may not be able to do on their own.
"I think that it would help to have a unique service that can get out there and help you and maybe even cover a larger area than you might be able to," McBride said.
