Remember that line from the Wizard of Oz, ‘Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh my?’ Well, what do they mean? Lions, tigers, and bears are predators, and in life, we might (or will) face situations where people will take advantage of someone who’s vulnerable.
Since we started using our Thermal Imaging Drone for Animal Search and Rescue, we’ve had some incredible experiences and met some truly amazing people who are dedicated to finding lost pets. It’s amazing how a lost pet can bring people together and, in many cases, bring out the best in them.
As we’ve been doing this, we’ve seen countless posts on social media about lost pets. And guess what? There are always comments recommending groups or organizations that can help find your missing furry friend. Love 2 Fly is mentioned along with other legit drone pilots and local animal search and rescue groups like trackers and trappers. But unfortunately, there are also some shady ones, like the lion, tigers, and bears. Usually, we’ll see a comment about an organization with thousands of followers promising to find your lost pet. They don’t have a website, a phone number, or an address. They only communicate through social media. And in some cases, they’ll even steal photos and videos from other legitimate search services organizations and claim they did the searches and rescues themselves. When we’ve called these folks out, they disappear like magic, but not before they’ve managed to scam some poor pet owners out of money. I can’t even begin to tell you how frustrating this scam is. The most successful scams target the vulnerable and desperate, and when owners lose a pet, their whole world can be turned upside down. These scammers know this, and that’s why they keep hanging around. Scammers and grifters have been around since the beginning of time, so I’m sure this blog post won’t make much of a difference. But now that I’m seeing real people affected, I have to say something.
As a pet owner, it’s important to be cautious about who you work with. Here are some things to keep in mind to help you figure out if a search service organization is legit:
1. Never work with anyone that will not speak to you on the phone. Whenever Love 2 Fly is contacted for a lost pet search, we require that we speak directly to the pet owner. Not only does this help build trust between us and the pet owner, but it also helps set clear expectations for both parties. It also gives us a chance to get to know the pet and understand its behavior and personality. Every search is different, and every animal is different.
2. Be wary of guarantees: No one can guarantee to find your lost pet. There are many factors involved in a search, such as the weather, terrain, the timing around when the pet was lost, and possible airspace limitations. Legitimate drone pilots will discuss these factors with you and set realistic expectations.
3. We try to limit our response area due to the urgency of searches, but we will travel a good distance when necessary and applicable. We do charge mileage in addition to the search charges. However, we DO NOT ask for a deposit before we come out and search, that’s our choice. We know some pilots that do ask to cover the mileage or at least some of it beforehand, which is their choice. If you are dealing with a search service that won’t talk to you on the phone, doesn’t have a fairly local address and doesn’t have a website presence (even though they have 1000s of followers on Facebook, yeah right!) but they demand a significant deposit before they dispatch a pilot, it is most likely not legit.
4. If you’ve posted about your lost pet on social media and come across comments from people outside your area suggesting you contact this or that service to help find your pet, it’s probably a scam. They might have links to other sites or say things like, check them out on Instagram they found my pet (but Instagram is spelled wrong).
5. Most of our searches comes from referrals from previous searches or the relationships we’ve built with trackers, trappers, and other search organizations in our area. While many searches are urgent, we encourage doing some research if possible, when looking for help.
As lifelong animal lovers who’ve been directly involved in rescuing and caring for animals of all kinds, we take it personally when we see organizations and people genuinely trying to help lost pet owners and do help them getting a bad rap for doing the right thing. These scammers undermine trust at a time when pet owners need help the most. What if a legitimate service could have brought that pet home, but the owner didn’t reach out because they thought it was a scam? What a real shame that would be.
Until next time, Peace, Love and Safe Flying!
Comments