With some interesting voting going on in various jurisdictions around the world, perhaps it should come as no surprise that one town in the US has elected a dog as its mayor.

Idyllwild, a town in California (where else), has as its municipal leader a golden retriever named Maximus Might Dog Mueller II.

Maximus won an entirely cat and dog mayoral race back in 2012 that was contested by 14 dogs and two cats. People paid US$1 to vote and all proceeds were donated to animal rescue services.

Mayor Maximus, who retains office for life, can be seen riding around town in his personalised pickup truck, making regular public appearances to the delight of the community.

One visitor to the town told a local TV station: “Max is awesome. He is super friendly and he lets my son give him treats”.

So far in the pooch dignitary’s (dognitary?) six-year service to the community, he has yet to be exposed in any way as a poor (paw?) choice.