Captain: The Invasive Species Detection Dog

**THIS EVENT TAKES PLACE IN ROOM 306 OF THE MCCONNELL CENTER**

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 lanternfly (SLF). SLF is presently in 18 states, including New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and leaves the environment looking like "scorched earth without the fire.” It's predicted to be in Maine by 2026.

Six dogs enrolled in Melissa McCue-McGrath's canine scent work classes at the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk were tapped to represent Vacationland in this multi-university 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.

You may also like the following events from Dover Public Library:

• Next month, 11th August, 06:00 pm, The Invention of Charlotte Brontë in Dover, New Hampshire
• Next month, 18th August, 06:30 pm, The Making of Bedrock Gardens in Dover

Also check out other Workshops in Dover.