A golden retriever has been serving as town mayor of the small Californian community of Idyllwild for five years.
Maximus Mighty Dog Mueller II, or Mayor Max as he is fondly called by locals, belongs to Phyllis Mueller and Glen Warren who call themselves Mayor Max’ chiefs of staff.
Phyllis Mueller told ABC13 News: “His role is to make the world a better place by conveying unconditional love and doing as many good deeds for others. My role as the chief of staff is to help run the vision of the mayor’s office for Idyllwild, so we actually run an actual mayor’s office.”
Besides interacting with locals and tourists and showing off some special tricks he’s learnt, Max and his canine friends often appear at charity events as well.
One resident, Andrea Valadez, told reporters: “Max is awesome. He is super friendly and he lets my son give him treats.”
Phyllis Mueller revealed that Mayor Max is following in the footsteps of his uncle who was first elected mayor of Idyllwild in 2012, beating out over a dozen other dogs and a few cats to clinch the top spot:
“Six years ago, Idyllwild decided to elect its first mayor. You had to be a local resident, but you couldn’t run yourself, you could run your pet. In a voted election, 14 dogs and two cats ran and we decided to have an election to raise money for the animal rescue. So you paid $1 a vote and you were encouraged to vote a lot.”
Mayor Max succeeded his uncle and “will hold his ceremonial role for his lifetime,” according to ABC13 News.
This is not the first time that a dog has been elected mayor in a US community. An 11-year-old great pyrenees named Duke has served several terms as elected mayor of Cormorant, Minnesota:
