Search continues for Whiskey, the dog who fled a Maine Turnpike rollover on Wednesday

Shawn P. Sullivan, Portsmouth Herald
·4 min read
Police and fire officials in Ogunquit, Maine, are asking people to keep an eye out for Whiskey, a hunting dog that fled the scene of a rollover accident on Route 95 on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
Police and fire officials in Ogunquit, Maine, are asking people to keep an eye out for Whiskey, a hunting dog that fled the scene of a rollover accident on Route 95 on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.

OGUNQUIT, Maine – The search continues for Whiskey, the hound who fled the scene of a rollover accident on Route 95 on Wednesday, according to Ogunquit Fire Chief Russell Osgood.

Whiskey is a medium-sized canine with long, floppy ears and what appears to be black or gray and white fur, according to a photo the fire department has posted on its Facebook page.

“He’ll come to you, if you call him, according to the owner,” Osgood said on Friday.

Whiskey does have a telltale sign: a thin white strip atop his head. He also may have pink gauze wrapped around one of his or her legs.

Osgood said he saw a post on social media suggesting Whiskey may have been spotted recently in the area of Exit 7 of the Maine Turnpike in York. Anyone who spots Whiskey is asked to call first responders at (207) 646-9361.

Whiskey is one of 10 dogs who were riding in the pickup truck that rolled over on the Ogunquit stretch of the Maine Turnpike, near the Mile 14 marker, just shy of the Captain Thomas Road overpass. One of the dogs died in the accident. Eight fled the scene, and seven of them were found in good time.

According to Maine State Police, William Funkhouser, 38, of Baker, West Virginia, was traveling northbound on the turnpike when he fell asleep at the wheel of his 2021 Toyota Tacoma, swerved into the middle lane, swiped a tractor-trailer, and rolled over onto the side of the road at around 9:30 a.m.

Funkhouser’s passenger, Jonah Hose, 23, also of Baker, West Virginia, was thrown from the vehicle and was brought to Portsmouth Regional Hospital with serious injuries, according to Shannon Moss, the spokesperson for Maine State Police. Hose was not wearing a seatbelt.

A spokesperson at the hospital said on Friday that Hose remained at the hospital in serious condition.

Funkhouser and the driver of the tractor-trailer were not injured in the incident, according to Moss.

Dogs make fast friends

Dalmatians are often associated with fire stations, but at the station in Ogunquit, Lily and Trigger likely will be the four-legged friends who will forever come to mind.

Six of the found hounds stayed at the Ogunquit Public Works Department until Funkhouser, their owner, picked them up at some point on Wednesday.

Ogunquit Public Works Director Tom Turno made some fast friends after he and fellow town officials and citizens helped find several hunting dogs who had fled the scene of an accident on The Maine Turnpike on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
Ogunquit Public Works Director Tom Turno made some fast friends after he and fellow town officials and citizens helped find several hunting dogs who had fled the scene of an accident on The Maine Turnpike on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.

Lily and Trigger, however, had been injured in the accident and needed veterinary care, which they received at Post Road Veterinary Clinic and Wells Dog and Cat Hospital, both in Wells. When they were free and clear, Osgood brought them back to the fire station, where they stayed until Funkhouser picked them up on Wednesday evening.

“They were great,” Osgood said on Friday.

A picture on the department’s Facebook page shows what Osgood was talking about. In the photo, Osgood is seen working at his desk in his office, while Trigger stays close by and Lilly rests, all tucked in with blankets, a few feet away.

Lily and Trigger keep Ogunquit Fire Chief Russell Osgood company in his office on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. The canines were two of eight who were found after they fled a rollover on the Maine Turnpike earlier that day.
Lily and Trigger keep Ogunquit Fire Chief Russell Osgood company in his office on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. The canines were two of eight who were found after they fled a rollover on the Maine Turnpike earlier that day.

Osgood said a diverse group of citizens and town officials found seven of the dogs that had fled the accident. One of the dogs, Faith, actually returned to the rollover scene shortly after first-responders arrived.

“She was as sweet as could be,” Osgood said.

While state troopers handled the accident scene, the search party looked for the other runaways. Five of them were found in the general area of the rollover, and a couple of them actually made it as far as the beach nearly two miles away. As mentioned, the last one, Whiskey, is still at large.

According to Osgood, Funkhouser, Hose and the dogs had come to Maine from West Virginia to do some bear hunting in the northern region of the state.

Osgood said he has buried the deceased dog at his property and is trying to learn its name, so that he can provide the resting place with a proper marker.

The Ogunquit Public Works Department kept these five dogs safe and sound, once they were found after fleeing from the scene of an accident on The Maine Turnpike on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
The Ogunquit Public Works Department kept these five dogs safe and sound, once they were found after fleeing from the scene of an accident on The Maine Turnpike on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.

Osgood said the search party for the dogs included citizens, Ogunguit public works employees, firefighters and police officers, York firefighters, York’s animal control officer, and state troopers. The effort was a testament to the people in town, he added.

“This little community of Ogunquit is amazing,” Osgood said.

As were the dogs, he added.

“I would have kept them for days, if I had to, no problem at all,” Osgood said. “My cats would not have been too happy about it.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Missing dog: Search continues for dog that fled rollover in Ogunquit, Maine