A stranded dog was recovered after rescuers attached sausages to drones in an effort to rescue her.
Millie, a 3-year-old Jack Russell-whippet mix, ran off her leash on Jan. 13 and went missing for hours until a group of people found her stranded on the mudflats of Hampshire, England, according to a report.
Millie was at great risk of being carried off by the tide, and all efforts to retrieve her, from the coast guard to kayaks, had failed for two days.
A drone pilot then suggested attaching food to a drone and flying it over Millie’s head, the report said.
NYC SPENDS $2 MILLION TO REMOVE ROOSEVELT STATUE
The rescue team checked the Civil Aviation Authority regulations, and after careful calculations, it determined that one 2-ounce sausage could be attached to the drone.
A man provided the sausages, and the drones were off.
A dog in Hampshire has been rescued from rising tides with a sausage attached to a drone
Millie, the Jack Russell terrier, went missing after slipping out of her lead in Havant
After four days of rescue efforts, a local resident suggested the plan to save her #SausageDrone ? pic.twitter.com/4z9Q5rEpX4
— Zora Suleman (@ZoraSuleman) January 20, 2022
“It was a crazy idea,” said Chris Taylor, the chairman of pet rescue organization Denmead Drone Search and Rescue. “It was something we had never tried before — the sausages were the last resort, as we couldn’t reach her by kayak or any other means.”
Millie picked up the scent of the sausages, and the drones led her to safety roughly 300 meters away, according to the report.
“If we hadn’t had got her away from that area, the tide would have come in, and she would have been at risk of drowning,” Taylor said. “Because Millie was hungry, it worked at luring her away from the danger to higher ground, which wouldn’t go underwater.”
The saga didn’t end there because, after eating half of a sausage, Millie ran into the woods, the report noted.
She was recovered and returned to her owner after wandering into an industrial area.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Relief just poured over me,” the dog’s owner said. “It was just absolutely fantastic to have her home.”
