Drone Search & Rescue (SAR) for Lost Dogs Isle of Wight have won the Volunteers of the Year in the Animal Star Awards 2025 for the Southern Region of the UK.
The Animal Star Awards were started in April 2016 by the founder Mary as a way to ensure that there is recognition for the extraordinary relationship between humans and animals and how they help each other.
In 2022, Mary received the Points of Light Award from Prime Minister Boris Johnson in recognition of her services.
Drone SAR for lost Dogs Isle of Wight (a branch of the Drone SAR for Lost Dogs UK) formed as a team on 25th June 2024.
A spokesperson for the team said:
“We feel so deeply honoured and so thankful to receive the award. We are so passionate about helping lost dogs and other animals to be reunited with their families.
“To see the relief on lost pet owners faces when their loved family member is found makes every flight undertaken, every search in all weathers, every late night so worthwhile. We are totally overwhelmed, and it is a very humbling experience to be recognised, especially as regarded as ‘the new team on the island’.
Article continues below this advertisement “We are so thankful for all the support and encouragement we receive from our Island community.”
Drone SAR for lost Dogs Isle of Wight has also recently been announced as the benefactors of the Jolleys Pet People Newport Stores Charity of the Year. Jolleys will be helping to raise awareness on the Island of the Volunteer work the organisation does and collect donations.
The overall winner, the Animal Star Award of the Year for the Southern Region, was won by Graham Burton of Drone SAR for Lost Dogs UK for his outstanding achievements as the founder of the organisation.
Graham took the lead in also recognising how beneficial it would be to have a branch of the organisation on the Island as he could see there was a need for more resources to help our lost pets and other animals home.
