Mush! Dog Team Delivers Supplies To Elderly Residents Shut In By Virus

Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Hannah Lucas Courtesy of Hannah Lucas

A musher is delivering food to homebound seniors in a rural part of Maine to help protect them from the spread of the coronavirus. Hannah Lucas works as a clerk at the Circle K in Caribou.

"I just noticed that there were a lot of people, specifically the elderly, coming in just to buy the milk or eggs, or fruit that we have here," Lucas says. "And I just wanted to help them minimize leaving their house during this time of a pandemic."

Lucas moved to Maine from her home state of Virginia roughly two years ago to pursue a life racing Siberian huskies. She bought her house sight-unseen. Now she's making herself an integral part of the community by delivering food and supplies to a high-risk part of the population — people aging in rural areas.

Seniors have been reported the most likely to fare badly if they contract COVID-19. As of Thursday afternoon, there had been no diagnosed cases of the virus reported in the area where Lucas is delivering food.

The musher typically takes orders via phone, purchases the requested groceries and then delivers them to trail entrances near people's homes before calling clients to let them know where she's waiting — all with an eye toward social distancing. She sets the food on the ground and steps back to let the recipients review the order from a distance.

"I think about my grandparents who are in their 70s and I wouldn't want anything to happen to anyone," Lucas says. "So anything I can do to help, I will."

She says she tries to take four to six orders a day. When Maine Public Radio first reached out, Lucas' voicemail was full by midmorning. Lucas says she's currently booked through Saturday.