The Maine 6: How Six Pet Dogs Learned to Hunt Invasive Species

In April of 2023, researchers at Texas Tech and Virginia Tech teamed up to run a proof-of-concept study - could pet dogs around the U.S. be trained to find one of the most environmentally damaging invasive species, the spotted lantern fly (SLF)? SLF is presently in 17 states, including New York and Massachusetts, and leaves the environment looking like "scorched earth without the fire.” It's predicted to be in Maine by 2026. When the study started in May, Maine was absent from the roster.

Local dog trainer, Melissa McCue-McGrath, received an email in November. The researchers were looking for a second cohort of dogs and trainers to complete the study that winter. Six dogs enrolled in McCue-McGrath's scent work classes at the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk were tapped to represent Vacationland in the study. These pet dogs, already trained to find a variety of oils on a q-tip for fun, pivoted their focus to save the environment.

They were shipped dead SLF eggs, packed them in a Pokemon lunchbox, and got to work.

This presentation describes the six teams’ journey helping researchers across the country, how they trained their dogs to find SLF, and the challenges they overcame training in a brutal Maine winter as another environmental threat -climate change- threatened their plans.

This Ted Exford Climate Stewards lecture is supported by Dave & Loretta (Exford) Hoglund.

About the Presenter

Melissa McCue-McGrath grew up in an accidental sled dog family in Midcoast Maine. She spent most of her 20 years training dogs and working challenging behavior cases in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2015 she wrote Considerations for the City Dog, a book targeting the urban dogs and families who are left out of conventional training books, and has spoken internationally on the subject. She's given up the conveniences of ride shares to come back home to Maine. Melissa's family resides with two ancient cats, fourteen bougie chickens, and Captain Love, one of the dogs involved in a nationwide study on training pet dogs to detect invasive species.