Vote 1 for Me … Woof !!

We’ve heard a lot about what it takes to be a strata committee member. 

It’s a thankless job for a volunteer who needs to learn all about the building, how strata runs and devote their private time for their neighbours.  So, it’s hard to get people to volunteer for the job.

In many ways it’s a job that requires loyalty and devotion that’s more suitable for a dog than a person.

So, it’s no surprise that they’ve finally elected a dog to a strata committee.

As this very funny story in the Washington Post reports. Beatha Lee was elected president of the Hillbrook-Tall Oaks Civic Association in Annandale, Virginia unanimously by the 50 people at the annual meeting.  Beatha was described as “a relatively new resident, interested in neighborhood activities and the outdoors, and who had experience in Maine overseeing an estate of 26 acres”.  And, since it’s always hard to get anyone to volunteer to devote the time needed to serve as an officer, she was an obvious choice.

Only weeks later did owners discover that their new president was, in fact, a dog when she promised in the association newsletter to "govern with an even paw" alongside the dog's photo under the heading, "Dog Rules, Humans Apathetic (Pathetic)".

In fact, Beatha Lee is a shaggy, dirty-white wheaten terrier.  

And, here she is ...

As it turns out, Beatha is actually the pet of the former president, Mark Crawford, who inherited Beatha in 2008 from his mother and stepfather in Maine.  Mark Crawford had served three consecutive terms as president and could not run for the office again. After weeks leading up to the election, he begged, pleaded and cajoled neighbors to run for the often-thankless volunteer post. No one bit. Newer, younger families told him that they were too busy juggling work, long commutes and kids. And long-time residents, were burned out.

So, he decided to nominate his dog … to motivate owners to participate.

You can read the whole article here.

It’s not clear if the strategy worked but the article suggests that the association is running fine with it’s new president.

Maybe it’s better to have dogs than people on strata committees?

See you at the pound looking for nominations for next year.

Francesco …