‘He ate three of his ties in a month’: California’s dog mayor celebrates a year in office

Mayor Max III greets constituents from the back of a pickup truck in Idyllwild, California. Photograph: Courtesy Phyllis Mueller

A sandy-haired hedonist with a penchant for hamburgers and kissing babies – on paper, Mayor Max III might seem like your typical US congressman. In reality, he’s the only politician in the world who can close his mouth on command, according to his chief of staff (and owner), Phyllis Mueller.

She dangles a treat above his snout as he demonstrates. “Good boy, Max!” she says.