Therapy Dog Trained To Help Comfort Maine Dispatchers, Dies In Hot Car: Police Investigate.
The state's first official comfort dog, whose mission was to comfort Maine dispatchers as they perform their important and highly stressful jobs, died in the back of a hot car in Bangor on Wednesday. Authorities with the Maine State Police are looking into how the state vehicle that Baxter, a three-year-old chocolate lab, was occupying came to stop running, as it was parked at the Bangor Regional Communications Center in the hot sun.
The Maine Department of Public Safety says Baxter was found dead around 2 PM.
"DPS is currently reviewing the circumstances surrounding Baxter’s death; the state vehicle, in which Baxter was regularly transported, is undergoing a thorough inspection to identify potential malfunctions that may have led it to unexpectedly stop running, which caused the vehicle’s air conditioning to cease operating. As a comfort dog, Baxter’s mission was to help improve the mood and well-being of first-line responders in Maine’s three emergency communication centers; his calming and cheerful presence will be deeply missed by all those who interacted with him."
The statement released by the Department of Public Safety went on to offer both the team of dispatchers and Baxter's handler and family its deepest condolences.
https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/life/animals/meet-baxter-maines-first-comfort-dog-first-responders-chocolate-lab/97-b5063c6d-de5d-4454-b062-80508750183b
Baxter had been working with Maine's dispatchers since 2022.
You can check out his first press appearance here.
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