Idyllwild will soon no longer be without canine leadership.

Mayor Max III will be leaving his birth home in Utah in a few weeks for a celebratory arrival in Idyllwild. He’ll be accompanied by Meadow, his litter-mate sister, who will serve as his executive assistant and occasional vice-mayor. Phyllis Mueller, who will be Max III’s chief of staff as she was for his predecessors, informs that the pair are still nursing on mother’s milk but will be weaned in a few weeks.

As explained in an August Town Crier story, Animal Rescue Friends, which originated the idea in a contest for an animal mayor, years ago formally bequeathed the mayorship into Mueller’s capable hands. She responded by levitating Mayor Max I and Mayor Max II into popular local figures, particularly with tourists to the community, greeting children of all ages from the “Max Mobile,” frequently parked near the Candy Cupboard on North Circle Drive downtown. Mueller advises that a party is being planned to celebrate Max III’s ascendence to the mayoral throne.

Is Max III a genuine decedent of Max I and Max II? Too early to tell. Mueller explained that her hope was to continue the line, but her former breeders retired. Efforts currently are underway to determine from birth records whether Max III could be formally related to his mayoral predecessors.

If not, there’s sure to be a resemblance.