At the intersection of happenstance and need, there was a border collie and the Bangor Police Department. A woman in Waldoboro contacted the department when she saw two officers were in Washington, D.C., escorting a Wreaths Across America trip to Arlington National Cemetery. She had a request: Would the officers pick up her rescue dog?

The woman had adopted a 14-week-old border collie puppy in Virginia named Tessa, but didn’t have a way to transport the pup to Maine before Christmas. She saw the officers were in the neighborhood and wondering if they had room for an extra passenger.

It was not a tough sell. From the Bangor PD Facebook page: “The conversation went like this-

TC: ‘Can you two bring a puppy back from Virginia after your visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday? I am working on a Christmas miracle.’

Officer Jordan Perry: ‘Yes, let me check with Danny’ (Hollers to Danny) ‘The Lieutenant wants to know if we can pick up a puppy in Virginia and deliver it to Maine.’

Officer Danny Place: ‘Of course.’ ”

As you might expect, the Facebook post about the journey has gone viral, being shared over 7,000 times as of 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.

On Friday, the officers were given a bag of dog food for the prospective passenger.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.