The office of Mayor Max III informed the Crier that last weekend, two video crews were on the Hill documenting the activities of the animal referred to in The Guardian as “California’s Dog Mayor.”

The first crew consisted of two film students from Notre Dame University in Indiana, Riley Mandell and Ben Bailey, who are working on a documentary about Mayor Max III, Idyllwild’s honorary Golden Retriever mayor.

The second was Fábio Borges, known to Brazilians for his cultural coverage on Brazil’s TV Record, but freelancing on this project.

Borges came up Saturday from Marina Del Rey and was interviewing locals and visitors about Mayor Max. He turned his camera on this reporter and asked my opinion on Mayor Max.

I expressed approval.; “As anyone who has owned a dog knows, it is easier to train a dog than to train a man,” I said. As to the possibility of other towns choosing dog mayors, I added that it was their right, a matter of “self-determination.”

The mayor’s Chief of Staff Phyllis Mueller, who was busy handing out complimentary doggy ties to visitors, reported to the Crier that both crews were delighted by an unexpected visit from the Idyll-Beast. The Beast, like many residents, usually avoids the downtown area during weekends, and the videographers had apparently not been warned about these curious creatures.