Hewitt: Team Gus Close to Fundraising Goal for Thermal Drone for Police

HEWITT, Texas (KWTX) The most famous lost (and found) dog in Central Texas is asking for the public’s help to make sure other pets get found faster than he was.

Gus, the basset hound who started a community movement after he went missing from his Hewitt area home in July, was found in September after a massive, six-week search.

At one point, an animal rescue group out of Dallas was using a thermal drone to help find him.

That sparked ‘Team Gus’ organizers to start raising money for one closer to home.

“Think about if it’s your dog one day and it can be helped instead of waiting for people from North Texas to come down with a thermal drone, we need one here in Central Texas,” said Nikki Pittman, ‘Team Gus’ organizer and Hewitt resident.

The drone would belong to the Hewitt Police Department, which agreed to match the funds if the team could raise $6,000.

“You give a little, and you get some back,” said Hewitt Police Chief Jim Devlin. “We are blessed to have citizens like this looking out for the interest of the department.”

After selling t-shirts, koozies, and even doing a kissing-booth with Gus, Pittman said they only have $250 to go.

“A simple donation of 20, 25 dollars to hit our goal,” said Pittman.

To buy a t-shirt or make a donation, contact Pittman at (254) 722-6981.

“We didn’t know this was going to be the outcome of looking for the dog, but what a great idea to have this type of equipment for the agency, not only to use for search and rescue, but for the fire department and their structure fires or any other application that it may have as it pertains to public safety,” said Devlin. [Click for More]