NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — Toby the dog had quite the night Wednesday.
He went out running around his New Hartford property with his brother last night like they always do.
Except last night, Toby didn’t come back.
“Usually, when my husband comes home or my son comes home. He hears the cars, and he’ll come running, but we didn’t spot him. And I’d say around 6:30, 7. We all started getting worried,” said dog mom Melissa Bannigan.
Bannigan couldn’t imagine going to bed knowing Toby was somewhere out in the cold.
“I circled in the car until like 11:30 last night,” Bannigan said. “I went through all the other neighborhoods—slept on the couch last night. Did all the things, with the blanket outside, trying to get him to come back.”
Morning brought no sign of Toby.
Desperate and distraught, the Bannigans followed the advice of dog-loving friends and called Skywatch Drone Search and Recovery.
“He came right out, flew his drone. And within, …