Become a searcher
Use your drone to reunite lost pets with their families. When the network is live, Whistlehome will send you search requests from owners in your area. You choose which searches to accept.
Four ways to take part
Community
You search free of charge. Your profile shows that you are a community searcher.
For hobby pilots and volunteers.
Standard
You do paid searches in daylight with a camera drone.
For pilots with a Flyer ID, an Operator ID and insurance.
Specialist
You do paid searches with a thermal camera, also at night. These searches find the most animals.
For pilots with thermal equipment, insurance and search experience.
Commercial
You do paid work for farms, estates and businesses, for example searches for lost livestock.
All commercial work is paid.
What you need
- The CAA registrations that your drone needs: a Flyer ID and an Operator ID.
- For paid work: insurance that covers your drone operations.
- Knowledge of the CAA rules for drones. You are responsible for each flight.
- For some searches near people or buildings: the correct qualification, for example an A2 CofC or a GVC.
How paid work will operate
The owner sees your price and your profile before the search. The owner pays through Whistlehome. We keep a fee and pay the remainder to you. We will publish the fee before we launch.
You agree the search plan with the owner before you fly. You can refuse any search, for example when the weather or the airspace is not safe.
Do you already volunteer?
Many UK pilots already search for lost dogs with volunteer groups. You can continue to do that. You can also joinWhistlehome as a community searcher, or take paid searches on the nights when you are not on volunteer duty.