FAQ

Each search is different and costs vary with location, difficulty, and complexity of the search. Here are some average costs for searches.

Retainer $150

The retainer is used to secure us on your case. We develop a search plan, secure the Part 107 pilot, get FAA approval for flights in your area, generate an interactive map that aids communication at all phases of the search, generate a webpage with details about your pet, start ongoing social media presence and posting to broaden your reach, develop a PDF flyer that can be scanned and references back to your webpage to broadcast updates.

Part 107 FAA Licensed Thermal Drone Pilot $100/hour (4 hour minimum required)]

We only use experienced Part 107 thermal drone pilots (usually costing $150/hour). These pilots understand the constraints and methods used for thermal drone pet searches. For example, thermal signatures cannot be detected by the drone through solid objects. We require a four hour minimum flight time to recursively search an area. Your pet may not be out the first time we fly by. We need multiple passes in an area at different altitudes and angles to ensure that if your pet is out in the open that they are detected.

Ground Search $50/hour

Depending on the complexity of the terrain, ground searches can be more expensive. Our team is rope rescue certified and can search almost any terrain. In the most extreme terrain the cost of search may be significantly more expensive but there is no other team, to our knowledge, that offers this type of capability.

Travel $25/hour and $0.70/mile

Our base is in Cherry Valley California. We are willing and able to travel and set up our mobile command in your area. The fees cover our team expenses on the road. We pride ourselves on being very inexpensive in this aspect of our billing.

No. Pet searches are complicated. Your pet might be in a neighbors backyard or in another state because a family on a trip found him and thought they obtained a new pet. Our specialty, and focus, is eliminating the possibilities that your pet is in an area which allows us to continually narrow the search. We use professional search and rescue tactics and strategies that are time tested and standard in professional searches.

Example: The client reports that their pet often wanders into the open field behind their house. We would check for track and sign of the animal in that area by ground search and fly hours of thermal drone missions in that area. We might set up game cameras and set a humane trap with treats that the animal likes in it. When all of these methods fail we can be reasonably sure that the animal is not in the area and focus our efforts on other possibilities that maybe seem less probable at first. We narrow the search by starting with high probability areas and moving toward the less probable. You may not have thought your little Yorkie would cross the freeway, climb a mountain, and end up foraging on a golf course over the hill. It is a low probability, but still a probability that needs to be considered after all high probability areas have been ruled out.