Less Than Year After Retiring As Small Town's 'Mayor,' Duke the Dog Passes Away
In a time when politics divide many, it is comforting to see how one community united thanks to a very special mayor.
Thought a bit unconventional, the mayor of Cormorant Village, Minnesota, was certainly a town favorite. He was loved, and everywhere he went he was greeted with smiles and pats on the back.
Perhaps it was this mayor’s open-mouthed grin that won the hearts of his citizens, or maybe it was the way he never failed to win a vote.
We think it’s all of the above — and of course, due to the fact that the beloved (honorary) mayor of Cormorant Village was a Great Pyrenees mountain dog named Duke.
A write-in winner at the annual “Cormorant Daze Festival” in 2014, Duke quickly became the town mascot. He served his village proudly for four years before retiring in 2018, according to KFGO.
It was the Cormorant Pub owner, Tricia Maloney, who came up with the idea to vote for Duke.
“So many people went, ‘oh, you can vote for mayor. Let’s vote for Mayor Duke,’” Maloney told NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
When Duke won the vote, it seemed funny enough at first. But soon word spread and his role as honorary mayor was solidified.
“He always loved the kids hanging on him and petting him,” his adoptive mom, Karen Nelson, told the radio station.
“And when we did the parades, he’d sit on the back of this red convertible, and he just held his head so high and proud.”
Sadly, Duke’s health started to decline and on Feb. 21, 2019, Nelson announced his passing on the mayor’s Facebook page.
“Our beloved mayor Duke went to doggie heaven today,” Nelson wrote. “He will be greatly missed. We will have a memorial for him in march or April at the Cormorant town hall. Thanks to all who express their condolences. It means a lot (in) hard times like this.”
We send our heartfelt condolences as well. It’s clear this town will miss Duke — the one of a kind mayor who will never be forgotten.
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