SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Drone video of a Pacific Beach man's search and rescue of his blind pet chameleon plays out like the perfect Hollywood action sequence.
Vince Kay Vera says his pet chameleon, "Pete," is temporarily blind due to an infection.
"He doesn't normally act like this. He's usually hunting, and hiding, and cruising, but right now he's just roaming aimlessly because he can't see," Vera says.
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But that temporary struggle didn't stop the sly Pete from escaping his outdoor enclosure and ending up on the roof of Vera's Pacific Beach condo.
"So that's all he wants to do all day long, just go straight up," Vera laughed.
When Vera noticed Pete was gone, he grabbed his drone and checked the few places he thought Pete could go.
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"I thought it was gonna be hard to find him, but he was just blind wandering around up there you know," Vera said.
Video shows Pete perched on the roof, in all his bright neon green splendor. Since there was no roof access, Vera enacted a daring rescue using his drone and some rope. Video shows the rope dangling over Pete, before the chameleon latches on a becomes the Tom Cruise of chameleons.
Vera was able to hoist Pete off the roof and safely lower his pet to the ground.
Vera's excitement was also caught on video: "Greatest day of my life!"
