A Bernese Mountain dog missing for nearly seven days was located by a thermal drone in Crystal Lake and rushed to the animal hospital with injuries from being hit by a car.
Crystal Lake resident Kate Belmonte said her Bernese Mountain dog named Charlie, who is two years old, went missing on December 30.
The dog was last seen near Huntley Road and Ackman Road in Crystal Lake.
Dog Gone Pet Recovery and SmithicAir, both companies that offer drone services, came to the area to help with the search on Sunday.
One of the drones, using thermal technology, spotted Charlie sitting in tall brush on the east side of Huntley Road near Belfield Road.
Belmonte said she was “in complete shock” that Charlie was found on Sunday afternoon after nearly seven days missing.
“There is no way we could have done this without the help of the thermal drones used by Kat – Dog Gone Pet Recovery and Mike – SmithicAir enough for the hard work they put into this,” Belmonte said.
“They came out in the bitter cold for hours to help find him (with no leads at all even where to look) it’s truly a miracle,” she added.
Charlie suffered a broken femur bone after apparently being struck by a car. He was taken to the animal hospital where he underwent surgery.
Belmonte said the surgery went well and Charlie is now relaxing and expected to come home on Tuesday.
She also said that she is “completely blown away” by the support of the community.
“Only living here a few years we have met so many wonderful people (unfortunately under these circumstances) I have been contacted by thousands of people reaching out and sending support and well wishes and seriously thank you so much to everyone who was keeping their eyes out for Charlie!” Belmonte said.
A GoFundMe created to help the family pay for the veterinarian expenses has collected almost $5,000 as of Tuesday.