KC Pet Search & Rescue helps lost-pet owners across the Kansas City metro take fast, organized action using thermal drones, ground thermal scanning, lost-dog recovery strategy, indoor-cat search methods, and owner-assisted humane trapping.
Founded by Jay Dalrymple, an FAA Part 107 drone pilot, Level 1 Certified Thermographer, and Marine Corps veteran, KC Pet Search & Rescue — often shortened to KCPSR — was built for one purpose: giving families a coordinated search and recovery plan instead of scattered advice and guesswork.
Professional drone operations for emergency search environments.
Thermal imaging experience used to interpret heat signatures in the field.
Different recovery plans based on animal behavior, terrain, timing, and sightings.
Serving Johnson County, Jackson County, Wyandotte County, Clay County, Cass County, and surrounding areas.
KC Pet Search & Rescue is an independent, Kansas City-based lost-pet recovery service. The team is small on purpose: Jay Dalrymple leads search operations and thermal drone deployments, and Richard Jackson works alongside him in the field, supporting owners and running ground search efforts.
There is no dispatch center and no outsourced call line — the person you talk to on the phone is the same person showing up to search. The company exists to do one thing well: help families find missing dogs and cats across Johnson County, Jackson County, Wyandotte County, and the surrounding Kansas City metro using a structured, technology-supported process.
Most lost-pet owners hear the same advice: post on Facebook, drive around the neighborhood, and hope for a sighting. That advice is well-intentioned, but it is not a plan — and scared dogs and escaped indoor cats behave very differently once fear and survival instinct take over.
KC Pet Search & Rescue was created to close that gap: combining thermal technology, search planning, and hands-on fieldwork into one coordinated response, instead of leaving families to piece together conflicting advice on their own.
Founder & Director of Operations
Licensed Part 107 drone pilot, certified thermographer, Marine veteran, husband and father.
Jay founded KC Pet Search & Rescue to give lost-pet owners something they weren't getting anywhere else: a structured, professional recovery process instead of random searching. He holds an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate, is a Level 1 Certified Thermographer, and served in the United States Marine Corps.
Outside of recovery work, Jay is a husband and father, and that shapes how he approaches every case — treating a missing dog or cat with the same urgency he'd want if it were his own family's pet.
Pet Recovery Specialist & Associate
Richard is based in the Lee's Summit area and works alongside Jay on search operations and owner support. He first came to KC Pet Search & Rescue as a client during his own family's lost-pet search, and stayed involved afterward — first helping other owners informally, and later joining as a Pet Recovery Specialist.
In the field, Richard focuses on the parts of a search that take patience: staying with an owner through a long night search, running ground scans, checking traps, and keeping communication calm during a stressful situation. He is currently working toward his own FAA Part 107 certification.
Read What Families Say About Jay & RichardThermal drones are one part of the process, not the whole plan. Every case starts with understanding animal behavior, then draws on whichever combination of tools fits the situation — aerial thermal search, ground thermal scanning, terrain and sighting analysis, owner-assisted cat trapping, camera monitoring, and scent or lure strategy. Different animals and different environments call for different approaches, and thermal drones don't work in every condition or guarantee a recovery.
A missing dog and an escaped indoor cat rarely behave the same way, so KC Pet Search & Rescue treats them as two different problems with two different toolsets.
Scared dogs often enter survival mode quickly. Many stop responding to their names, avoid owners directly, travel farther at night, and expand their range when chased incorrectly.
That's why KC Pet Search & Rescue relies on thermal drones, live aerial observation, sighting analysis, and location intelligence instead of random searching, with recovery guidance for the owner or a rescue partner.
KC Pet Search & Rescue does not operate dog traps. Dog recovery relies on aerial visibility, ground positioning, and guiding a safe approach — not trapping equipment.
Indoor cats usually stay much closer than owners expect. Instead of roaming long distances, most hide silently under decks, sheds, brush, crawlspaces, or nearby structures.
This calls for a different toolkit than dog recovery: thermal ground scanning near the point last seen, thermal drone search when conditions allow it, camera monitoring, and trap-placement strategy — with the owner doing the actual trapping under KC Pet Search & Rescue's guidance.
Aerial thermal search, ground thermal search, and humane trapping are three distinct steps, used together or separately depending on the case.
Every deployment is backed by real certifications and field-tested equipment, not just enthusiasm for drones.
Legal, professional drone operations in populated and rural search environments.
Trained to read and interpret thermal heat signatures rather than guess at them.
Discipline and composure carried directly into high-stress recovery situations.
Thermal drones, handheld thermal monoculars, humane trap systems, and remote camera monitoring.
Richard Jackson is currently working toward his own FAA Part 107 certification as the team grows.
Much of this work is documented on video — thermal footage, aerial search footage, and real recoveries in the field.
"The best search and rescue there is! He helped us find our pup before the fireworks got too loud on the 4th of July."
— GK, Missing Dog Recovery
"Thanks to KC Pet Search and Rescue we were able to find our beloved 1 year old cat. He was gone for days and was able to be recovered."
— Wyatt Parmley, Lost Cat Recovery
"I used Jay and Richard's services… these are professional, passionate people… they went beyond what they were supposed to do and found our cat."
— Dr. Faris Farassati, Lost Cat Recovery
A small, skittish rescue dog went missing in Olathe. Callie was located just 28 minutes into a focused thermal drone search and reunited with her family.
Callie's Full StoryA rural search with daylight and weather working against the clock. Izzy was safely recovered roughly two and a half hours after the search began.
Izzy's Full StoryKC Pet Search & Rescue provides emergency thermal drone pet recovery services throughout the Kansas City metro, including city deployments, county-wide response areas, and surrounding rural communities.
One of the primary response areas for lost dogs, escaped indoor cats, thermal drone deployments, and humane trapping operations.
Thermal drone pet recovery services throughout Jackson County, Clay County, Cass County, and surrounding Missouri communities.
Additional county response coverage throughout Kansas and Missouri for emergency pet recovery operations and thermal drone deployments.
Lost-pet situations are emotional and time-sensitive. The goal was never just to fly a drone — it's to give owners a clear plan, honest communication, and a person who stays engaged with them until there's an answer.
Owners are often included directly in the recovery process with live communication, aerial visibility, map coordination, and sighting updates.
Many recoveries happen after dark, when temperatures drop and thermal imaging becomes more effective at revealing hidden heat signatures.
Lost dogs and escaped indoor cats require different recovery approaches, built around terrain, sightings, and stress-response patterns.
