Retired New York State police investigator Chad Tavernia could easily be described as a hero. Through North Country Drone Search & Recovery, Tavernia helps to reunite lost pets with their owners using a thermal drone in New York state.
The company’s Facebook feed is full of successful rescues. As of March 14, 2025, North County Drone Search & Recovery had located 57 lost pets/livestock since January 27, 2024, and they’ve helped in at least one successful rescue since then. Homer the 3 year old Lab/Terrier mix went missing on March 15 in Cadyville, NY. A thermal drone search done between 8:00 pm and 1:00 am was unable to obtain a visual, but the owners were able to locate him the following morning.
On March 12, a family in the Town of Pierrepont, NY, contacted the company about their 1-year-old german shepherd Trigger who went missing in a heavily wooded area surrounding their home. Tavernia made the one hour drive to the family to help them search, locating the dog via drone in a few hours about ¼ mile away. Members of the family were able to locate Trigger with Tavernia’s help, rescuing the dog from freezing temperatures.
On March 5, North County Drone Search & Recovery was contacted about a 2-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback/American Bulldog mix named Bowser who escaped his home during a UPS delivery. Once again, Tavernia made a near one hour drive to Saranac, New York, to help locate the dog. After about an hour of searching with the drone, Bowser was located laying down on the frozen ice and snow of a swamp. Tavernia then guided the owner, Chris, to the dogs location, where the rescue was completed.
North Country Drone Search & Recovery’s Facebook page is full of stories like this, with Tavernia putting serious, committed work into finding and rescuing these dogs and pets. There are few people in this world with hearts quite like this man.
