Lincoln the goat (L); Murfee the dog.Photo: Lisa Rathke/AP/Shutterstock; Antialiased/Wikimedia
Two animal mayors have helped make a new community playground a reality in Fair Haven, Vermont.
Aside from the town’s contribution of $20,000, the current mayor of Fair Haven, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Murfee, has helped raise another $20,000, according to theRutland Herald.
The outlet also reports that Lincoln, a female goat that was elected the town’s first pet mayor in 2018, helped pull together an additional $10,000.
According to Town Manager Joe Gunter, the current playground, which is next to the town’s elementary school is “32 years old” and “past its useful life,” with broken equipment, theHeraldreports.
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Murfee’s owner, Linda Barker, told theHeraldthat she had to get creative to help her pup raise the funds for the project during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
“When I was talked into putting Murfee up to run, I thought, easy-peasy, we’ll get some T-shirts, we’ll go to the Spring Fling, we’ll sell some shirts and raise some money,” said Barker. “And then COVID struck and it was like … there go all the easy plans.”
Her new plan? Makingmasks to help curb the spread of coronavirus, which has helped her and Murfee bring in “well over $5,000” so far, thanks to the 1,000 masks (and counting) that the owner has made.
Barker also held a basket raffle, which was a hit even using a socially-distanced method in which Barker set up stations in a park instead of going around to businesses herself.
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“We had over 130 baskets … people really dug deep,” Barker told theHerald. “Almost all the businesses in Fair Haven donated. In Rutland, wehad quite a few donations, so that worked really well.”
But Murfee has a bone to pick with those in charged of one aspect of the new playground: its “No Dogs Allowed” sign!
“Murfee is going to take that up with the town,” said Barker with a laugh, according to theAssociated Press. “He’s going to contest that.”
source: people.com
