Stubbs the cat, longtime mayor of an Alaska town, dies at 20
Stubbs, a big yellow cat who survived a dog assassination attempt during his 19-year tenure as honorary mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, died peacefully last Thursday. He was 20.
Stubbs was elected in 1998 through a write-in campaign. According to the AP, the 900-person town has no human mayor, and perhaps that's just as well -- Stubbs appeared to be extremely popular with the electorate.
And despite surviving both a dog attack in 2013 and false rumors of his death in 2016, Stubbs remained trusting and cuddly to the end, a quality his family lauded in a statement Saturday.
"[Stubbs] was a trooper until the very last day of his life; meowing at us throughout the day to pet him or to come sit on the bed with him and let him snuggle and purr for hours in our lap," the statement reads.
"Thank you, Stubbs, for coming into our lives for the past 31 months; you are a remarkable cat and we will dearly miss you."
The late mayor will likely be succeeded by a kitten named Denali, who reportedly "has the exact same personality as Stubbs."
Here's hoping he also has the same political acumen. Rest in peace, Mr. Mayor.
Topics Animals
Chloe was the shopping editor at Mashable. She was also previously a culture reporter. You can follow her on Twitter at @chloebryan.
