Thermal Drone Finds Lost Dog Stuck On Icy River, Saving His Life

Duke, a 12-year-old English Labrador Retriever, was running out of time. His body heat had slowly melted the ice beneath him, creating a hole that threatened to plunge him into the freezing river below.

Missing for more than a day after wandering away from home, Duke was nowhere to be found—until a thermal drone located him half a mile away in a dire predicament.

His family had been searching frantically when Dave Whitehouse, a retired firefighter who specializes in using drones to find lost pets, stepped in to help. Whitehouse, who runs Northwest WI Lost Pet and Deer Recovery, spotted Duke stranded on a patch of ice in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

Whitehouse shared a heart-stopping video of the rescue.

In the video, Duke’s dad, Corey Arneson, can be seen cautiously making his way across the ice. The Labrador, too weak from hypothermia and stuck in the melted hole, was unable to move. Carefully, Arneson reached Duke and pulled him free. “His Papa never gave up and showed a tremendous amount of courage jumping into that icy river!” the video’s description reads.

With Duke in his arms, Arneson carried him to safety. Whitehouse later revealed that Duke was found in an unexpected direction—one they hadn’t suspected Duke would have gone. Thankfully, they checked that area just in time.

Now healing from severe hypothermia and a kidney infection, Duke is expected to make a full recovery. His family is deeply grateful for Whitehouse’s help, saying they wouldn’t have found Duke without him. Whitehouse, who has visited Duke since the rescue, shared on Facebook that the brave dog is improving every day and giving his papa plenty of big hugs.