Lost Pet Drone Search in Santa Barbara

Someone answers the phone at (323) 632-1310, any hour, any day.

What to do in the first hours

Start now, calmly, with these steps.

1. Search close to home first, quietly. Frightened animals hide and often do not come when called.
2. Post in the local lost-pet Facebook groups Lost and Found Pets Santa Barbara County, Lost and Found Pets 805, and SB Lost and Found Pet Resource and Network Group, and post on Nextdoor too.
3. Call or visit Santa Barbara County Animal Services. Santa Barbara shelter: 5473 Overpass Rd, Goleta, CA 93111. Phone (833) 422-8413. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 5pm, closed Mondays and holidays. Other county shelters: 548 W Foster Rd, Santa Maria and 1501 W Central Ave, Lompoc, same phone and hours.
4. Inside the city of Santa Barbara, also call Santa Barbara City Animal Control at (805) 882-8900.
5. Call Skyecam: (323) 632-1310. Say where the animal was last seen and when.

Loose pig, goat or horse in Santa Barbara County

A thermal camera sees body heat, so it can find any warm-bodied animal, not only cats and dogs. Santa Barbara County Animal Services takes some farm and exotic animals and assists with livestock, so report the animal to them. The county lists loose livestock as a daytime-only response, and it does not respond to after-hours animal calls between midnight and 7:59 am. Night and early morning are when a thermal search works best, because the ground is cool and body heat stands out. A drone can check fields, brush and ground that is hard to walk.

If your pig, goat, or horse gets out at night, you do not have to wait for morning. Call Skyecam at (323) 632-1310 and say where the animal was last seen.

Help me find my cat in Santa Barbara

Research from the Missing Animal Response Network found that 84% of 128 lost outdoor-access cats were found within a five-house radius of their home, and 92% of 158 indoor-only cats who escaped outside were found within a five-house radius. So the first search area is small and close to home.

Frightened cats hide in silence and often stay hidden during the day. A thermal search checks nearby yards, brush and spaces under decks quickly, without calling or rustling.

My dog ran away. What do I do?

Dogs usually travel further than cats, so the search area is wider, and a drone covers more ground than a search on foot. A frightened dog may hide during the day and move at night.

Searching Santa Barbara County

Skyecam searches across the county, including Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, the Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc and Santa Maria. Open ground between neighborhoods is slow to cover on foot and quick to cover from the air.

When a thermal search makes sense

Best at night and early morning. Poor contrast in midday heat. It cannot see through walls, so it will not find an animal inside a building or a car. Heavy tree cover makes it harder. A search can confirm whether an animal is in an area, which tells you where to focus. Searches do not always succeed.