Botetourt man using drone service to help find lost pets

FINCASTLE, Va. (WDBJ) - When your pet escapes, you might walk around calling its name, hoping it will listen and return. Now, one local man is using technology to make the search more efficient.

Hayden Vanburen started BackRidge Drone Services in August. Now he’s started to offer pet recovery services and is using his drone to help people locate their lost pets. He can use it to search within a one-mile radius and identify any animal in that area.

“Flying around, I can see squirrels in the woods, so if I can see a squirrel, I can see a dog or a cat. This is getting bigger for pet recoveries around the country, and I was like, ‘Well, there’s no one around here that does it.’ On this side of Virginia, there are a lot of pets that get lost in the mountains, so if anyone ever needed me, I would say call me as soon as possible if you lose a pet,” said Vanburen, the owner of BackRidge Drone Services.

Vanburen got the idea from his cousin in Ohio, who has a drone business to help hunters find their deer. Vanburen got his commercial drone license and started BackRidge Drone Services.

His business also started as a way to help hunters survey properties or track deer they’ve shot. Now he’s expanded his business to helping people find lost pets using his drone’s thermal camera, which can identify animals’ heat signatures through trees, brush, and other obstructions.

“It works very well for finding pets. Especially right now with these cold temperatures outside and the heat spots on my drone, they stick out like a sore thumb, so finding pets is pretty easy,” said Vanburen.

Vanburen’s drone is also equipped with a spotlight to help find pets in the dark. While the lost pet service has just begun, he’s already helped reunite several people with their lost dogs.

“When they call me up, I ask them to take me from where they last saw the dog. Usually, I’ll start there, and I’ll just scan all that I can with that. If there’s nothing right there, we’ll move locations and just keep searching,” said Vanburen.

With his drone, Vanburen is able to pinpoint a pet’s exact location and work with its family to retrieve it. His drone can search for about an hour and a half before its batteries have to be recharged.

He stresses if you want help finding your missing pet, you should contact him as soon as possible.

“If you’re a pet owner and your pet goes missing, right now it’s predator mating season, and coyotes are on the move, so we want to be fast about that,” said Vanburen.

BackRidge Drone Services charges a flat rate of $200 for pet or deer recovery. It provides services in Botetourt and all its surrounding counties.

If you want Vanburen’s help finding your pet, you can call him at 540-816-3052.