Local News

The family enlisted the help of police-grade drone technology as they searched for the missing Catahoula leopard dog.

A lost dog belonging to a Haverhill sheriff’s lieutenant was found Thursday, nearly a week after he went missing.

Cash, a 3-year-old Catahoula leopard dog, returned home safe and sound early in the morning after he fled May 1. Tanya Cubelli, a lieutenant at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department and Cash’s owner, said her family was “elated” to find him about a mile and a half away from home.

At around 4 a.m. Thursday morning, a resident on Silver Birch Lane messaged Cubelli on Facebook and told her that she had spotted Cash. Cubelli’s husband drove by about an hour later and found the dog standing in the middle of the road, where he hesitated before jumping into her husband’s truck.

Cash had been sprayed by a skunk and had “minor bumps and bruises” but was otherwise healthy and unharmed, Cubelli told Boston.com. Family, friends, and community members all helped in the search for Cash, but Cubelli thanked Phil Minghella, owner of On Mission Drone, in particular.

Minghella, who is also an organizer for the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, provided a police-grade drone shortly after Cash disappeared to aid in the search, according to Cubelli. The drone used infrared and thermal imaging technology to detect heat signatures at night.

Thanks to Minghella’s drone, Cash’s family had eyes on him multiple times while he was missing. Even though he usually stays by his owner’s side, he was easily spooked and ran when spotted.

“Every time there was a sighting, he would take off,” Cubelli said. “I firmly believe that we couldn’t have done it without Phil.”