Join local dog trainer, Melissa McCue-McGrath, at the Main Library on Thursday, September 18th at 6pm for this presentation on how pet 6 dogs were trained to detect invasive species.

In December 2024, six dog and handler teams from Southern Maine were tapped to take place in a ground breaking study. We were tasked with answering the question: “Could pet dogs trained by pet dog trainers learn to find one of the most environmentally damaging invasive species: the spotted lanternfly (SLF)?” The answer was a resounding YES.

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.

Melissa McCue-McGrath grew up in an accidental sled dog family in Midcoast Maine. She spent most of her 20+ year career 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 since given up the conveniences of ride shares to come back home to Maine, where her family resides with an ancient cat, fifteen bougie chickens, and Captain Love, one of the dogs involved in a nationwide study on training pet dogs to detect invasive species.

Join us at the Main Library on Saturday, September 20th at 1pm for Artsy Afternoon! Artsy Afternoon is a monthly adult crafting series, where adults can come to flex their creative muscles. This month we will we will be working with mixed media (book pages, tissue paper, puzzle pieces, cardboard, glue, paint, and more) to create an Autumn Collage! All materials and instruction provided.

Artsy Afternoons is for adults ages 18+ and preregistration is required. To sign up, call the Main Library at 207-766-7660 or stop by the front desk!