On the morning of April 6, Henri, a 13-year-old French bulldog, wandered off into the woods behind his Ancram home and disappeared for nearly 15 hours. Without the help of a drone pilot, his owners said, Henri might never have made it back home.
The dog’s owners, therapist Susan Klein-Shilling and her husband, David Shilling, an architect, were immediately worried. Henri, they said, rarely makes it past the front patio before turning back. Shilling spent the day driving around and searching the woods on foot, while Klein-Shilling, who was in New York City at the time, posted alerts on social media.
“It was emotionally hard because he was my mother’s dog, who passed away five years ago,” Klein-Shilling said. “He’s still part of my mother, so this was really upsetting if it was going to end this way, too.”
Eventually, Edward Ashley, a police officer in the Town of East Greenbush and owner of Steadyeddie Drones, located Henri nearly 750 feet into the woods behind the house after surveying the area with a thermal drone. The search took close to two hours.
Henri tends to get cold and has several different sweaters, said the couple, who divide their time between their New York City apartment and their house in Ancram.
“I was so glad he was wearing his red one because it’s just obviously such a marker,” Klein-Shilling said. “He’s a lost dog in a red sweater. It’s sort of a children’s book.”
Ashley said he was initially concerned the sweater might suppress Henri’s heat signal because of its insulation.
“But we could clearly make out the white dog and portions of red,” Ashley said. “That clued us in to take a much closer look.”
Ashley said thermal drones have an additional sensor beyond the standard camera that detects heat signatures. He has been working with drones for about five years. Thermal images usually stay consistent throughout the day and night, he said, except on especially sunny or foggy days.
Klein-Shilling said her mother, Joan Klein, always had golden retrievers, but as she aged, the family encouraged her to get a smaller dog.
“She was also a therapist, and Henri would sometimes come into her sessions,” Klein-Shilling said.
Henri has since returned to his usual routine: breakfast with Shilling, then sleeping on the bedroom floor while the household’s other dogs, cats and chickens go about their business.
“Nothing fazes the guy,” Shilling said.
A giant thank you to Edward Ashley and SteadyEddie drones! It’s so sad when pay pets go missing. So glad you have the service. Thank you for what you do.‼️🌹❤️