The Can-Am International Sled Dog Races will be holding a special tribute this year to the Maine State Police dog who was killed during a recent armed standoff in Portage Lake.
Each musher in the Can-Am 250 race, which passes through Portage Lake, will be asked to carry a single flower in honor of Preacher, the dog who was shot and later died of his injuries.
In addition, the Can-Am has launched a memorial fundraising campaign and a new annual award in Preacher’s honor, through a collaboration with the state police and Maine Warden Service, organizers said Tuesday on social media. Funds will be raised to build a memorial in Portage recognizing the fallen canine.
“Many people are not aware of what sacrifices these K9s make and the working relationship between these dogs and their handlers and the entire team to which they are assigned,” Can-Am organizers stated. “They were all family.”
Preacher and his handler, Sgt. Jonathan Russell, served the greater Southern Field Troop area and the Maine State Police Tactical Team, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said in an announcement of the dog’s death on Feb. 4.
The 4-year-old Belgian Malinois and Russell were part of the tactical team responding to a Feb. 3 standoff in which Portage resident Steven Righini barricaded himself in a home with his infant daughter. Righini allegedly shot and wounded Preacher as he attempted to flee.
The dog was rushed to the Presque Isle Animal Hospital and underwent emergency surgery, but died early on Feb. 4, with Russell and other tactical team members present, Moss said.
The Can-Am 250 route travels through Portage and passes by where Preacher fell, organizers said. Mushers in that race will be given flowers to carry at the start of the race to leave as a tribute in Portage.
Neither Can-Am nor state police officials were immediately available for comment.
More information is forthcoming on the planned memorial to be placed in Portage, according to the Can-Am social media page.
