Jersey Shore’s ‘Drone Ranger’ Has Saved 122 Missing Pets

These drones really are the cat’s meow, and occasionally the cow’s moo.

Along the Jersey Shore, while most people worry about beach traffic and seagulls stealing fries, Michael Parziale is launching drones to bring missing pets home.

Parziale, 64, a restaurant owner and FAA licensed drone pilot, has built an 18 drone rescue fleet through his nonprofit Unmanned Search and Rescue U.S.A.R. Drone Team, based in Manasquan. In just two years, that fleet has helped recover 122 missing animals across New Jersey, including dogs, cats, and yes, even a cow, The New York Post reports.

If there were capes for drone pilots, Parziale would probably refuse one and get back to flying.

From Veteran Tribute to Pet Rescue Mission

“I’m doing it in honor of my father, who fought in World War II, and my two grandfathers, who fought in World War I,” Parziale told the New York Post. “It’s my way of giving back to veterans.”

That mission goes far beyond lost pets. U.S.A.R. uses animal rescue as a real world training platform for veterans learning drone skills, offering free education that leads to real jobs in aerial surveying, agricultural spraying, photography, infrastructure inspection, and search and rescue.

Each mission becomes both a rescue effort and a live training exercise, where veterans learn how to plan flights, interpret sensor data, communicate with ground teams, and operate under pressure, skills that translate directly into civilian drone careers.

To carry out that work, Parziale relies on serious hardware, including the DJI Matrice 400 and the Matrice 4T. These are not hobby drones. They are powerful, industrial grade aircraft designed specifically for demanding missions.

Both platforms are built for long endurance flights, stable performance in wind, and complex sensor payloads. The Matrice 4T, in particular, stands out in search and rescue thanks to its thermal imaging capabilities, allowing operators to spot heat signatures in darkness, dense brush, or cold environments where a lost person or animal might otherwise be invisible.

The Matrice 400 adds endurance, payload flexibility, and reliability, making it well suited for wide area searches and disaster response.

Parziale says it plainly. You cannot have a nonprofit without profit.

The idea for U.S.A.R. started after Parziale helped locate a mentally handicapped man who had been missing for three days in Toms River. Using a drone, he found the man in just over an hour, isolated in a swamp and suffering from hypothermia. In conditions like that, ground searches are slow and dangerous, while a drone can cover large areas quickly and safely. A few more hours, and the outcome would have been very different.

Soon after, someone asked Parziale if he could help locate a lost pet. Then another. Then another.

“It just developed into animals because I became really good at that,” Parziale said, with the kind of understatement that usually follows doing something extraordinary.

A Flying Fleet That Reunites Families

As word spread, the nonprofit grew quickly. Through GoFundMe donations, Parziale often covers the cost of searches for elderly retirees who cannot afford professional services. For many of them, a missing pet means losing their closest companion.

“Every dollar is applied toward that,” he said.

Parziale works alongside his two sons, Michael John, 27, and Jonathan, 17, plus a rotating group of volunteers. The reunions can be overwhelming.

“I had one woman crying on my shoulder so much my shirt was wet,” he said. “Their pets are like children to them.”

One of those reunions happened last February, when Gina Manfredi’s five month old American Bully mix, Shade, bolted during a walk after being startled. Darkness fell, the temperature dropped, and light snow began to fall. After 24 hours of searching, she was desperate.

She called U.S.A.R. Parziale arrived and located Shade in just 41 minutes.

“Michael donates his time and expertise to help those who cannot afford to hire a professional,” Manfredi later wrote on Facebook. “In a world that can sometimes feel uncertain, this experience reminded me that there is far more good than bad.”

Once a call comes in, Parziale travels anywhere in New Jersey, from Cape May to the northern mountains. He typically launches a drone about half a mile from the search area and begins scanning from above. While his drones are capable of extreme performance, FAA rules limit flights to 400 feet above ground level, and Parziale coordinates with nearby airports when required.

A private pilot for 45 years, he also deploys his drones during hurricanes and natural disasters, helping first responders identify floods, landslides, and dangerous terrain from the air.

DroneXL’s Take

This is drone technology at its most human. No hype, no buzzwords, just skill, compassion, and someone who shows up when people need help the most. Michael Parziale proves that drones are not distractions or toys. In the right hands, they are powerful tools for good, especially when the mission is simple, urgent, and ends with a family getting their best friend back home.

Photo credit: NY Post, Drone Supremacy