Search for Whiskey the dog has happy ending. Here's where a Maine State Trooper found him

OGUNQUIT, Maine — Whiskey, one of nine hunting dogs who fled a rollover, has been found, safe and sound.

State Trooper Matthew Williams was traveling on the Maine Turnpike on Saturday night when a couple of quick glints on the side of the road caught his eye.

Williams knew what those glints in the darkness were: eyes.

Eye reflections along the tree line on the highway are common, Williams said on Sunday. He said he frequently sees the eyes of deer, bears and coyotes as the headlights of passing vehicles reflect off them. Williams has even seen the glint of a bobcat.

On Saturday, though, the eyes he spotted belonged to an animal for whom everyone in the area had had their own eyes peeled for days.

“This time, fortunately, it happened to be Whiskey,” Williams said.

Whiskey fled near the Mile 14 marker of the turnpike in Ogunquit on Wednesday, Sept. 14. According to Maine State Police, the accident occurred when 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.

Previous story: Man seriously injured, dog killed after truck hauling dogs crashes on Maine Turnpike

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.

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

Funkhouser had Whiskey and nine other hunting dogs in the back of his pickup truck at the time of the accident. One of the dogs died. The other nine fled. Eight were found by a search party of town officials and residents and returned to Funkhouser, their owner, by the end of the day.

Whiskey, however, remained at large until Williams spotted him on Saturday.

“Fortunately, he made himself visible enough for passing traffic to notice him,” Williams said in a press release from Maine State Police.

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According to Maine State Police, Williams had been on the lookout for Whiskey, as the Augusta Regional Communications Center had received two calls from motorists who reported seeing “what appeared to be a dog, possibly Whiskey,” near the Mile 11 marker on the turnpike in York at approximately 8 p.m.

Whiskey then made his way back into the woods, Williams said. The dog had been at the bottom of an embankment, along a guardrail, just shy of the Clay Hill Road overpass at Mile 12, so the chances were slim that anyone would have seen him as they drove by, he added.

“If I hadn’t gotten that fortunate moment of his eye reflection, which then disappeared, I would not have seen him at all,” Williams said.

Williams pulled his vehicle over, got out, and started after Whiskey. He had had his dinner with him in his car, so he brought a piece of chicken with him to win the canine’s trust.

Anyone who owns a dog knows that worked.

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Whiskey was howling, weak and shaking, and could barely stand when Williams approached him. The chicken gave him just enough energy to make his way along the embankment to Williams’ car. Whiskey then feasted on the rest of Williams’ dinner – two chicken breasts, a cheese stick, and nearly two liters of water.

That trip to Williams’ car was the last time Whiskey walked that night.

“I had to carry him after that,” Williams said. “He’s a survivor.”

Williams brought Whiskey to the Ogunquit Police Department. The canine has been reunited with his owner, the police confirmed on Monday.

Williams said he was glad the four-day search for Whiskey had a happy ending, but he said he also wanted people to remember that Hose was still hospitalized in serious condition.

“It would be wonderful if prayers and support could keep coming for him,” Williams said.

On Friday, Ogunquit Fire Chief Russell Osgood said Funkhouser, Hose and the 10 dogs had driven to Maine to do some bear hunting in the northern part of the state.

On Sunday, Moss said the dogs had made the trip from West Virginia in a large stainless steel crate, similar to the kind used by animal control officers.

“The dogs were being transported properly,” Moss said.

Moss said Funkhouser will not be charged.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Dog, Whiskey, missing since Ogunquit, Maine crash has been found safe