A THERMAL drone has been used to locate a dog who had gone missing for five days.

Ted went missing on Wednesday, August 7. While out on a walk at Cold Harbour in Wareham, he was spooked by a loud noise and ran off.

Dave Rimmer, a veteran from Wimborne, heard of Ted’s disappearance and offered to use his thermal drone to help search for Ted.

Dave said: “The search launched on Facebook, and various people were going out with their drones.

“I have got a thermal drone which is able to pick up heat signatures. I woke up early Sunday morning, when it was cooler to go take a look.”

Areas near where Ted went missing were identified, including a nearby river and Carey Farm in Wareham.

Dave said: “It was quite foggy, so you couldn’t see much with a normal camera, but you could see quite a bit with the thermal camera.

“And then I saw a heat return on the right-hand side of the river. Initially, I thought it could have been a rabbit, but I continued to zoom in, and it was getting bigger and bigger, and I knew it was too big to be a rabbit.

“When I turned to the visible camera, there he was, little Ted. He was fast asleep.”

Ted curled up asleep Ted curled up asleep (Image: Dave Rimmer)

The thermal camera was airborne for only four minutes before locating the lost Cavapoo.

Once Ted was located, Dave set off to retrieve him from a remote area which ‘wasn’t very accessible.’

“I marked it on the map, jumped in the car and walked ten minutes through a farm through quite tough terrain,” Dave added.

Alongside the farmers, Dave discovered Ted curled up in a ball. They put a lead on him and reunited him with his owners, who were on holiday at the time of his disappearance.

Dave said: “It was pretty surreal that I found him because he was missing for a fairly long time, and then the feeling went from surreal to ecstatic.

“I was a bit emotional because I have dogs and so I knew how the owners must have felt.”