Mayor Max of Idyllwild, California

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Mayor Max Muses

Because I had something to say . . .

As in the December 20, 2012 edition of the Idyllwild Town Crier --

My holiday greeting to the Idyllwild community. Enjoy!

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As in the December 2012 edition of ARF's "Ruff Times" newsletter --

I have a great life. I get to snuggle in and sleep on a giant queen-size dog bed that is so soft, the weariness of my old dog bones just melts away as I sink in to the warmth of the covers. The windows are open and as I sleep, I can smell all the goings-on in the neighborhood homes, the foods, the fireplaces, the pine trees, and the visiting coyotes, raccoons, birds, and squirrels, with possibly a dash of mountain lion wafting by. I can hear all the sounds of the neighborhood for miles it seems, and I seem to sense and know everything that is going on. First and foremost, I am in the moment, and in the moment everything is perfect, and I can really be in the moment enjoying every second of my existence, and I am very thankful for it.

I can tell that my "owners" really love me, and I am always exhilarated to see them, and they never stop telling me how much they love me, and that I am "so cute." I would say my chronic attitude towards life is exhilaration, and I enjoy everything that I get to do in a day which includes going places in the car that is fully equipped for my comfort, going for walks, eating, sniffing, being petted and talked to, and acknowledged that I am an important part of the family, and meeting wonderful people that pet me and also say I'm "so cute." I'm not sure what that means, actually, but I know it's a good thing, and I can perceive their affinity for me, and I can see their smiles and that my presence makes most people happier. When things are a little duller because my "owners" are working, I take this opportunity to snooze, so that the dull moments are over quickly, just like the night passes quickly when sleeping.

I am completely exhilarated by living, and I love every minute of it. I do not take it for granted, and I am not worrying about the past, present, or future, because I am alive and in the moment completely.

It is my wish this holiday season that you have the best of everything and that your life is a complete joy and that you love living every second of it, and that you are so excited about living that you can't wait to get to the next second. I hope that you experience the joy that I have every second of my life. I sincerely wish this for you, and I want you to know that I love you, and that I am always exhilarated to see you.

With complete love and admiration, I wish you the happiest of holidays this holiday season and in every day to come in every year.

Love always,

MAYOR MAX

As in the November 2012 edition of ARF's "Ruff Times" newsletter --

What do pets really want?

I think it is interesting that people think that dogs are very different from humans because, I guess, we don’t talk much. While it’s true that we don’t talk in the human sense of the word, we are still living, breathing, sentient beings. For example, let’s say you became mute for some reason. Would that now mean that you wouldn’t mind being left alone or in the backyard for hours? Would it mean that you wouldn’t want communication? Would it mean that you don’t get hungry as often? Would it mean that you don’t need to go to the bathroom so often?

Phyllis had a cat once that got into a fight with possum, and the possum bit off the cat’s tail. Upon taking the cat to the vet, the vet said, "Oh, the cat’s not in any pain." Now, Phyllis knew the cat was in pain, because the cat was in so much pain, the cat’s face was completely distorted and didn’t look like her cat. The eyes were fixed and huge, and the cat held itself in a stiff, rigid position, but it did NOT cry. Phyllis assured the vet that the cat was in pain and ordered some pain relief medication. Believe me, if you get your finger, or arm, or leg cut off, you will feel pain even if you can’t speak.

A cold hard floor is a cold hard floor.

Ten hours without going to the bathroom feels about like what you think it would feel.

Being ignored hurts our feelings.

We like love and communication as much as you do.

We do feel love and concern for our children.

Please be more sensitive with your pets. Ask yourself this: Would you like that treatment yourself?

Thank you for taking better care of your pets. No matter how good you are at it, I bet you know you could be better. Keep working on it. Pets pretty much want what you want. If you doubt it, try coming back next lifetime as a pet, and see how you like it.

Love always,

MAYOR MAX

On October 13, 2012, I attended the Fire Prevention Event at the Idyllwild Fire Department. It was a lot of fun!

Smokey the Bear and Max

Idyllwild Fire Chief Patrick Reitz, Roscoe, Max, Phyllis Mueller

I feel right at home with fire trucks!

Checking into disaster preparedness materials

With the fine Mountain Community Patrol team

With Fire Dog Roscoe and friend

October, 2012

Upon visits to the Idyllwild Transfer Station*, I noticed that recyclables were deposited into trash bins. I discussed this with two of the staff at the Transfer Station, Rodrigo Reyes and Robert Hernandez, who then informed me of several Transfer Station tips I could help communicate to the town.

* Idyllwild doesn't have a trash dump or sanitary landfill, but rather has a station which receives and then transfers trash and recyclables to other County of Riverside sites.

As in the October 18, 2012 edition of the Idyllwild Town Crier --

Download a PDF file to read.

As in the October 2012 edition of ARF's "Ruff Times" newsletter --

On the Loss of a Pet and Getting Another Pet

I have spoken with many people who have lost a pet they loved so much, yet they have not ever gotten another pet after that. Some say they could never go through it again. So they are pet-less.

This is very sad, and it reminds me of the line in the song "Bojangles": "After 20 years he still grieves." It breaks my heart to meet a person who no longer has a pet.

The only way to fully recover from the loss of a pet is to get another pet. Depending on your spiritual views, it really could be your own pet trying to come back to you. They miss you just as much. And the only reason I am mentioning that at all is that both my owners will state emphatically that their dog Tina came back to them in an exact duplicate of the previous Tina.

But in either case, whether you believe that or not, the love you had and have for the lost pet and the love that pet had for you, is a love that another pet is desperately seeking.

Please do not sentence yourself to a life of grief and loss. It is possible to recover from that ongoing sadness to a great degree, and you really can love another. Just like people, all pets are individual. But the common denominator of pets is unconditional love, and they are desperately seeking someone to give it to. Please allow another pet to love you the way your last pet loved you.

You can easily tell which pets are capable of this love by visiting them. They will make the connection, and you will not be disappointed.

It’s true that some day you’ll be experiencing that loss again. But the many years of joy in between will be so much greater than the experience of that loss. You will live longer and the pet will live longer. The shear exhilaration of that pet will imbue positive life force into you.

My owners have suffered the loss of 4 dogs and 11 cats in their years. One time (before my time) my owner cried for six months over the loss of a cat, and that is not an exaggeration. She finally learned how to get help in this area, but she also learned to give love to another pet. And this is part of that healing process.

Please give another pet a chance to love you and be a companion to you. The pets need your love and help. You may find you will love the next one even more. After all, people and pets have an infinite capacity for love. To borrow a phrase, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

If you are suffering from the loss of a pet, please call my office. We can help.

Love always,

MAYOR MAX

As in the September 2012 edition of ARF's "Ruff Times" newsletter --

Idyllwild Animal Rescue Friends

I want to thank all of you who have let me know that you plan to donate your time to ARF. If you haven’t called ARF yet to schedule some time at the ARF office, please give us a call at 951-659-1122. Even two hours a week is a huge help, and we and our pets will be so excited to hear from you.

We are also continuing to fund-raise to accomplish our $65,000 goal for the year. To help with continuing my contributions to ARF, I do two things: I continue to tell everyone I meet about ARF, and I let them know if they would like to contribute to the mayoral candidates and helping animals on the Hill, they can donate to ARF, and that even a dollar or two is very helpful and greatly appreciated. I then give them ARF’s contact information, and I let them know as well that any donations they provide to me will be provided by me to ARF. The topic that Idyllwild elected a dog as Mayor is one that is an easy door-opener.

We have also started an ARF donation jar in our home to collect spare change and a few dollars that we may have in our pockets at the end of each day. (Our "jar" is actually one of our flower vases, it’s very pretty.) Any money that lands in our jar is designated solely for ARF, and when it gets up a few inches in change and/or dollars, we schedule a stop by at ARF and hand it over.

You can stop by ARF at any time and drop off a dollar or two. Never underestimate the power of a few dollars a month toward ARF because every dollar contributes towards saving a life. If everyone participates even in a small way, we’ll be able to save many more animals.

We appreciate your help and love you very much. We always look forward to seeing you.

Love always,

MAYOR MAX

As in the August 2012 edition of ARF's "Ruff Times" newsletter --

MYTH DISPELLED

I would like to dispel a myth. I heard that some people felt they did not need to donate to ARF anymore because our fund-raiser worked so well, and we were even denied a $1,000 grant recently because they heard about the success of our fund-raiser.

Think about this:

Did you know that more than 30 million animals die in the U.S. every year due to cruelty, neglect, and exploitation?

Did you know that 3 to 4 million cats and dogs are euthanized by U.S. shelters each year (nearly 10,000 animals killed every day)?

The amount we fund-raised doesn’t even scratch the surface of what’s actually needed to help animals on the Hill, much less off the Hill.

We generated $31,150 of the $65,000 goal we set for the year. Our yearly goal, however, was kept small because fund-raising is difficult. It was not set low because there aren’t enough animals to help. Always remember this. You can NEVER do too much to help animals. Whether $1, $10, $100, whatever you can do, please do it. ALL of the monies that go to ARF pay for the expenses of the healthcare, food, and fostering of the animals. ALL of us at ARF work as volunteers and receive NO compensation for our work. We want to help as many animals a year as possible. Please help and spread the word that financial assistance is greatly needed.

We will be happy when cruelty, neglect, exploitation, and euthanizing of animals no longer exist.

Love always,

MAYOR MAX

As in the August 2012 edition of ARF's "Ruff Times" newsletter --

LIFE AS I SEE IT

My campaign managers are often asked why we have such a wonderful life, so I wanted to pass along a rule by which we live that has made all the difference in our lives. Phyllis figured out early that positive energy (happiness, affinity, respect, admiration, love, generosity, i.e., these types of positive emotions) leads towards life, and that negative energy (hate, anger, viciousness, hostility, i.e., these types of negative emotions) leads towards death. So we only keep the positive energy people close to us (in business, family, friends and associates), and we don’t keep close relationships with negative-energy people.

Sure, everyone has to deal with negative situations, but you don’t have to make a regular diet of it. If a person takes you down emotionally, think about ways to buffer yourself from that person. You can still be nice, but you don’t have to hang out. It’s easier to accomplish your goals when you are surrounded by positive-energy people, and life is simpler and more fun too. When things get complex and negative, you can be sure you may have a negative person in close. Take a look. You don’t even have to tell a person they are negative or that you’re making a change. You can just change by how you elect to spend your time, where you spend it, and with whom. Life can be fun, simple, and abundant when you’re surrounded by positive-energy people.

Love always,

MAYOR MAX