Real underdog takes over at civic association

Residents of a Maryland neighbourhood admit they should have paid more attention before they unwittingly elected a dog as president of their civic association.

A show of hands at the annual meeting sealed the election as president of the Hillbrook-Tall Oaks Civic Association of one Ms Bethea Lee, who turns out to be a Wheaten terrier who belongs to former president Mark Crawford. The vote was held last summer, but Bethea's true identity wasn't revealed until recently in the association newsletter.



Dave Frederickson, who read the dog's name and qualifications to the crowd at the annual meeting, said, "Many people, like myself, were amused. But some were extremely upset. I've spent a lot of time on the phone explaining things."

"This isn't a power trip," said Crawford, who now serves as vice president of the pup regime. "We wanted to send a message to the neighbourhood that they needed to get involved and get engaged."

Full story here.