MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury capped its canine campaign season late last week, and on Monday, June 16, swore in its first-ever “dog mayor” — a beautiful, sweet golden/labrador retriever mix named Tela (pronounced Tee-La) who’ll spend the next year spreading good cheer, supporting human- and animal-friendly initiatives and showing unconditional loyalty to her constituents.

You know, the kind of stuff we expect from each of our 535 Congresspeople in D.C.

Truth be told, with the political polarity on the national stage, you’d probably have less chance of being bitten by Tela than by a U.S. House member these days.

Under the glare of a statewide paw-parazzi, Tela at her swearing-in proved she’ll literally work for kibble and belly scratches. Tela topped a field of four candidates for the ceremonial mayor’s role, which was pitched as a Homeward Bound fundraiser and endorsed by the Middlebury selectboard.

Hannah Manley, Homeward Bound’s development director, said Middlebury’s dog mayor contest was inspired by a similar promotion/fundraiser that a Florida-based shelter had undertaken.

“(The idea) came at a time I was sitting at my desk wondering, ‘How do we make a bigger splash for Homeward Bound in honor of our 50th anniversary milestone?’” she recalled. “The timing was serendipitous… and the rest is history.”

What ensued was a mini campaign season that saw the four mayoral candidates jump, beg, roll over and just plain look cute for voters. The field included Tela, Reggie, Ed and Nat. You can see their photos at tinyurl.com/32xh3a82. There’s not a loser in the bunch.

“We were looking for a dog mayor that would be a proponent of spay & neuter, registering your dog with the town and getting a rabies vaccination; an animal that would inspire the fun in voting for the young people in the area, that would model proper behavior in the communities — specifically at the dog parks,” Manley said. “And another reason to have a dog mayor, we felt, was to boost the morale of the hardworking members of the town staff.”

Supporters cast votes in an online election — for $5 per tally, with all proceeds going to the nonprofit Homeward Bound, Addison County’s Humane Society. When the fur had stopped flying, Tela finished on top with 533 votes, followed by 412 for Nat, 334 for Ed, and 237 for Reggie.

Nat — an absolutely adorable pup who provides stellar companionship to residents of the EastView at Middlebury retirement community — was on hand to support the victor. Word in the local dog park is that Nat is being sized up for a deputy mayor post.

It was a campaign for the ages. Zero political speeches. No TV ads. No poop slinging (all of that was bagged and disposed of properly). All candidate contributions — totaling $7,500 — went to a local nonprofit that looks after animal welfare.

“The race was classy from the start; no scandals,” Manley said with a grin. “The candidates complemented each other, promoted each other. It was clear they were encouraging participation rather than a specific dog to vote for.”

She said her favorite election moment was a honk-and-wave appearance by three of the four pups and their handlers on Thursday, June 12, just as local schools were letting out.

“It was incredible. ‘Honk and waves’ can be kind of awkward when it’s a human being; you don’t want anyone to feel bad. But this was a 100% approval rating from the community…” she said. “The guardians did all the work; the canines just looked good and acted friendly.”

Jenn and Eric Montgomery stood next to their Tela on Monday as Middlebury Town Clerk administered the oath of office for mayor. Tela placed her paw on a box of milk bones, swearing to steer clear of all malice, postal workers and cats. With help from Eric Montgomery, Tela put inked paw to contract, officially launching her one-year term.

“Thank you to the selectboard and to (Middlebury Town Manager) Mark (Pruhenski) for saying ‘yes’ to this crazy idea,” Manley said with a smile.

“The team here is excited to get right to work with our new mayor,” Pruhenski said.

John Flowers is at [email protected].