Murfee

Murfee (born August 15, 2016) is a male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and was the second animal to be elected to the honorary office of mayor in the town of Fair Haven, Vermont on March 3, 2020.[1][2] Murfee was born in Oregon in 2016 and was bought by his current owners, Linda and Ray Barker of Fair Haven, Vermont that year.[3] In the fall of 2017, Murfee became a certified therapy dog. He has also earned AKC titles as a Therapy Dog and Canine Good Citizen.[3] He was re-elected for a second term on March 3, 2021.[4]

Murfee
Mayor of Fair Haven, Vermont
Assumed office
March 3, 2020
Preceded byLincoln
Personal details
Born
Murfee

(2016-08-15) August 15, 2016
Salem, Oregon, U.S.
Websitemurfee.org

Work as a therapy dog

Immediately following his certification as a therapy dog in 2017, Murfee worked with Caring Canines Therapy Dogs of Southern Vermont, Inc., where his owner, Linda Barker, is president.[5] This included visits to hospitals, residential and outpatient care facilities, schools, colleges and universities throughout southern Vermont. According to his website, he estimates he spends roughly 10 hours a week doing such work.[3]

2020 mayoral race and publicity

On January 31, 2020, Murfee's candidacy was announced on the Fair Haven Police Department Facebook page.[6] The next day, the story was picked up at a national level by CNN which ran the first national story covering the election.[7] His public profile grew over the next month with articles published outside the United States on Index.hr in Croatia[8] and Notícias ao Minuto in Portugal.[9]

After Murfee was elected mayor, national level publicity intensified with segments airing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert[10] and The Today Show.[11] Numerous articles ran nationwide and internationally, including an appearance in the June 29, 2020 issue of People.[3]

Mayoral term and goals

The purpose of the honorary mayoral office is to raise funds for a playground in the town of Fair Haven. To that end, Murfee has a website, a GoFundMe page and a Facebook account. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Murfee has taken donations for hundreds of handmade face-masks.[3] On January 8, 2021, it was announced that the playground had been successfully funded and that Murfee would turn his attention to fundraising for the construction of a dog park in the town.[3][12]

References
  1. Guzman, Francisco; Ahmed, Saeed (March 4, 2020). "And the winner of the mayoral race in Fair Haven, Vermont, is ... a therapy dog". CNN. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. "Murfee, el perro asistente de terapia elegido como alcalde en un pueblo de EE. UU" [Murfee the therapy dog chosen as mayor in a US town]. La República (in Spanish). March 5, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  3. Official Site - Story, retrieved June 20, 2020
  4. Lyons, Olivia. "Fair Haven pet mayor election goes to the dogs". www.wcax.com. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  5. Caring Canines Therapy Dogs of Southern Vermont, Inc., retrieved June 20, 2020
  6. "Third Party Candidate Announces election bid for Mayor". Facebook. January 31, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  7. Higgins, Cole (March 4, 2020). "The candidates for mayor in this Vermont town: two dogs and a goat". CNN. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  8. Higgins, Cole (March 4, 2020). "U ovom gradu kandidati za gradonačelnika su dva psa i koza" [In this city, the candidates for mayor are two dogs and a goat]. Index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  9. "Disputa a quatro patas: Um bode e dois cães na corrida a mayor nos EUA" [Four-legged dispute: A goat and two dogs in the mayor race in the USA]. Notícias ao Minuto (in Portuguese). Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  10. Stephen Colbert (March 6, 2020). Meanwhile... CBS. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  11. Vermont dog wants to be mayor. NBC. April 6, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  12. "Vermont pet mayor helps raises money for dog park". NEWS10 ABC. 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
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