A puppy was rescued from a bramble covered ditch five days after she vanished - thanks to a heat-seeking drone.<br /><br />Six-month-old cocker spaniel Bow got lost during a walk with her owner Jodie Dance.<br /><br />Jodie hunted for her beloved pooch for hours on February 19 but was forced to abandon the search when it got dark.<br /><br />The next day she put an appeal on Facebook for people to look out for Bow near where she went missing in Burton Dassett Country Park, Warks.<br /><br />Five days later a jogger overheard barking coming from a bramble-filled railway embankment about a mile away from the park and raised the alarm.<br /><br />Drone operator John Watton, 50, was called in and used thermal imaging cameras to spot Bow trapped inside the thicket.<br /><br />John, from Drone SAR (search and rescue) For Lost Dogs UK, said: “The thermal drone is really good for areas that are really hard to search in.<br /><br />“A jogger heard barking but couldn’t see the dog so we were called in and I took the drone over to his location.<br /><br />“Within a few minutes I picked up a heat signature. <br /><br />“It was literally about 6ft in brambles so all I got was a heat signature of a sort of spaniel, fox-type size. <br /><br />“One I picked that up the team went into this area, secured any exits and then they went in and grabbed Bow.”<br /><br />Footage from Sunday's rescue shows Jodie and her friends hacking down the thick brambles with hedge trimmers before hauling Bow to safety.<br /><br />John added: “It’s probably about a mile from where she went missing from.<br /><br />“Just the reaction from the owner was unbelievable. She was completely in tears. <br /><br />“To be honest I was nearly blubbering.”<br /><br />Relieved owner Jodie, 37, from Banbury, Oxon., had taken Bow and her sister Bella for a walk in the countryside when they both ran away.<br /><br />She said: "They are only pups but they love running so I took them to Burton Dassett and let them off the lead.<br /><br />"They were having a fabulous time on the hills but then both disappeared from view and then only Bella came back.<br /><br />"I had no idea where Bow was but had to stop looking when it went dark so I contacted Drone SAR who were just brilliant.<br /><br />"Despite Bow being out in the cold for five days she's made a full recovery. It's a miracle she was found and it wouldn't have happened without the thermal drone."
