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This Town Has An Adorable Golden Retriever As Mayor And Dreams Really Do Come True

This Town Has An Adorable Golden Retriever As Mayor And Dreams Really Do Come True

Politics can be a wild ride, and politicians are rarely universally loved. Except nobody has a bad word to say about the mayor of Idyllwild — who is a dog.

Max the dog, AKA Mayor Max II, is a golden retriever and the mayor in the mountain town of Idyllwild, California. He was elected, uncontested, in 2013, and has been serving his constituents proudly ever since with the support of his two deputy mayors, Mikey and Mitzi (yes, they’re obviously also golden retrievers).

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Max II is actually the second canine mayor of Idyllwild — the first Max was elected in a landslide victory in 2012, when the humans of Idyllwild ran a fundraiser for the Animal Rescue Friends organisation. People could enter their pets as candidates for mayor, and vote with dollar donations. Fourteen dogs and two cats ran for office, but Max I secured more than two-thirds of the votes.

 

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Unfortunately, Max I passed away in April of 2013. Obviously the town was devastated.

Like some epic tale out of Game Of Thrones about a long-lost royal bloodline, Max’s owner scoured the globe for his relatives and found Max II, Mikey and Mitzi. She brought them back to Idyllwild and in July 2013, Max II took his place at the head of the mayor’s office.

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His first year of leadership was so successful that the town voted him mayor of Idyllwild for life.

Max the dog is a very paws-on politician, hitting the pavement every day to visit locals and get well-deserved pats (don’t you dare call them bribes). He also attends community events, parades and weddings, makes house calls on sick constituents and schedules meetings with the public. Other politicians, take note.

At this point, it’s worth noting that Idyllwild is an unincorporated town, rather than an incorporated city, and as such it has no local (human) politicians. So Mayor Max II is indeed Idyllwild’s official mayor!

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(Lead image: Mayor Max / Instagram)

Thank you to Glenn Warren of the Office of the Mayor of Idyllwild for clarifying the status of Idyllwild as an unincorporated town. 

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