Residents of a Maryland neighborhood admit they should have paid more attention before they unwittingly elected a dog as president of their civic association.

ADVERTISEMENT

A show of hands at the annual meeting sealed the election as president of the Hillbrook-Tall Oaks Civic Association of one Bethea Lee, who turns out to be a Wheaten terrier who belongs to former president Mark Crawford.

"She had a name," resident Robin Klein Browder told The Washington Post. "It wasn't Spot or Rover. Everyone thought she was human."

The vote was held last summer, but Bethea's true identity wasn't revealed until recently in the association newsletter. The shaggy dog doesn't talk much but was hailed as a good delegator, and Hillbrook has a strong canine community of some 90 resident mutts, the Post noted Saturday.

Crawford said there were a lot of good-natured responses to the election, although not all residents were amused.

"This isn't a power trip," said Crawford, who now serves as vice president of the pup regime. "We wanted to send a message to the neighborhood that they needed to get involved and get engaged."