The poster dog for Acadia National Park’s Bark Ranger program passed away in mid-October.
Drift, a skilled tracking dog who worked with a statewide, volunteer search and rescue nonprofit and helped solve two missing persons cases, died Oct. 20 at age 12, according to the group’s Facebook page.
Acadia is one of only a few national parks that permit dogs. Drift was the park’s first Bark Ranger.
The border collie is featured on the park’s Bark Ranger activity checklist.
Throughout his eight years as a tracking and trailing dog for the Maine Search and Rescue Dogs group, which was formed in 1983 in collaboration with the Maine Warden Service, the accomplished search dog was involved in locating two important clues that helped nearby teams find missing people.
“Drift was also a slayer of vacuum cleaners, a mentor to foster border collies and a great traveler,” his obituary says. “He will be missed by his handler and other members of his human and K9 family.”
Drift and his handler, Kelly Pontbriand, a former park ranger, held public search and rescue demonstrations throughout the state, including at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Cumberland County and Camp Beech Cliff on Mount Desert Island.
The Bark Ranger program, launched in 2018, encourages canine owners to clean up after their dogs, use a leash no longer than 6 feet long, respect wildlife and know which areas of the park are off limits to dogs, including all visitors centers, the park’s six cliff ladder trails and Echo Lake and the Sand Beach between May 15 and Oct. 15.
To become a Bark Ranger, owners must review the program’s rules and participate in one of three activities with their pet: hiking a park trail, exploring a carriage road and strolling along a body of water.
Upon completion of the checklist, the pet can be sworn in as a Bark Ranger, and their owners will be eligible to purchase a specialized dog collar at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, according to the park’s website.
The park sells $20 plushies that look like Drift, and are named after him, at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center.
Neither the search and rescue dog group nor park officials responded to inquiries from the Bangor Daily News.