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Stubbs (cat)

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Stubbs the Cat
Mayor Stubbs reclining on a car
Stubbs in 2006
Honorary Mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska
In office
July 18, 1997 – July 21, 2017
Personal details
Born(1997-04-12)April 12, 1997
Talkeetna, Alaska, U.S.
DiedJuly 21, 2017(2017-07-21) (aged 20)
Talkeetna, Alaska, U.S.

Stubbs (April 12, 1997 – July 21, 2017)[1] was a cat who was the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska from July 1997 until his death.[2]

Stubbs was described as a tourist attraction,[3] having been flooded with cards and letters, and drawing 30 to 40 tourists each day (most of whom were en route to other Alaska destinations, such as Denali)[4] who hoped to meet "the mayor". Stubbs's position was honorary, as the town is only a historic district.[5]

Every afternoon, Stubbs went to a nearby restaurant and drank water laden with catnip out of a wineglass[6][7] or margarita glass.[8]

At least one opinion writer for the Alaska Dispatch News insisted that the whole story was false, and that Talkeetna did not in fact have a cat mayor.[9] Stubbs died on July 21, 2017, at the age of 20 years and 3 months.[10]

Early life and election

In 1997, Lauri Stec, manager of Nagley's General Store, found Stubbs in a box full of kittens in her parking lot.[11] The owners were giving the kittens away; Stec chose "Stubbs" because he did not have a tail.[6]

Stubbs is widely believed to have been elected after a write-in campaign by voters who opposed the human candidates.[12] But according to NPR, the cat could not have been elected as a write-in candidate because "the tiny town has no real mayor, so there was no election."[13] Nagley's General Store doubled as Stubbs's mayoral office during his tenure.[6]

Stubbs was featured in an effort to protest the 2014 U.S. Senate race in Alaska when people urged voters to write Stubbs in on the ballot.[14] Stubbs was featured in a video criticizing both the Democratic and Republican candidates for Senate.[14]

Stubbs's owners have suggested that another family cat, Denali, may assume Talkeetna's mayoralty.[15]

Injuries

On August 31, 2013, Stubbs was attacked by a dog.[11][16] He was placed under heavy sedation at a veterinary hospital 70 miles away in Wasilla, having suffered a punctured lung, a fractured sternum, and a deep wound in his side.[11][17] A crowd-sourcing page was set up to help pay his medical bills.[18] Stubbs remained in the veterinary hospital for nine days before returning to the upstairs room of the general store;[19] he was subsequently discouraged from roaming. Donations toward his care were received from around the world; the surplus was given to an animal shelter and to the local veterinary clinic.[7]

Other perils Stubbs escaped from included being shot by teenagers with BB guns and falling into a restaurant's deep fryer (which was switched off and cool at the time). Other exploits included having hitched a ride to the outskirts of Talkeetna on a garbage truck.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lamb, Jason (July 13, 2012). "Talkeetna Mayor is a Cat Named Stubbs". KTUU-TV. Archived from the original on 2013-04-22. Retrieved July 19, 2012. cat named Stubbs has been the mayor of Talkeetna for nearly all of his life -- no joke. It's been that way for more than a decade in the small tourist town that boasts nearly 900 residents. The part-manx was named honorary mayor shortly after his birth, and now locals all know the cat as "Mayor Stubbs." {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Alaska town elects a cat for mayor". United Press International, Inc. July 15, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012. As the story goes, about 15 years ago, some residents of Talkeetna were unhappy with the candidates who were running for mayor, so as a joke, they encouraged others to elect Stubbs the cat as a write-in candidate, and he actually won.
  3. ^ "Cat marks 15 years as Alaskan mayor". Euronews. July 16, 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-04-22. Retrieved July 19, 2012. He has been a popular tourist attraction ever since in the town of 900 people. 'He was just in the Alaska Magazine, and he's been featured in a few different things,' said Lauri Stec, who works at Nagley's General Store in Talkeetna, where Stubbs hangs out most of the time. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Duerson, Meena (July 17, 2012). "Cat has been mayor of Alaska town for 15 years". NYDailyNews.com. Daily News, L.P. Retrieved July 19, 2012. Stec manages Stubbs's main haunt, Nagley's General Store, and says the cat has been a good leader when it comes to local small businesses. "He doesn't raise our taxes - we have no sales tax. He doesn't interfere with business", she told CNN. "He's honest". Yet Stubbs has exhibited some diva behavior, such as drinking water out of a wine glass laden with catnip every afternoon.
  5. ^ Friedman, Amy (July 17, 2012). "Cat Marks 15 Years as Mayor of Alaska Town". Time Magazine. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Yan, Holly (2012-07-17). "Mayor of Alaska village walks on four paws". CNN. CNN.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2013-07-16. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b Doogan, Sean (November 3, 2013). "Donations to injured Talkeetna cat 'mayor' Stubbs to benefit vet clinic, animal shelter". Alaska Dispatch. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  8. ^ Simpson, Ian (24 July 2017). "Alaska town's purr-fect unofficial cat mayor dies at 20". Reuters. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Silly 'Alaska cat mayor' saga spotlights how easily the media can be scammed". ADN.com. 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  10. ^ Stubbs, Talkeetna’s honorary cat mayor, dies, by Chris Klint, at KTVA; published July 23, 2017; retrieved July 23, 2017
  11. ^ a b c Mungin, Lateef; Watts, Amanda (4 September 2013). "Stubbs the cat, Alaska town mayor, mauled by dog". CNN. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Alaska town: Feline mayor is the cat's pajamas". Houston Chronicle. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  13. ^ Morning Edition (2012-07-18). "Following Up On Tuesday's Feline Mayor Story". NPR. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  14. ^ a b Campbell, Colin (4 November 2014). "A Cat Mayor Just 'Announced' His Campaign For Senate In Alaska". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Feline sad: cat who was 'mayor' of Alaskan town for 20 years dies". The Guardian. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Alaska feline mayor Stubbs the cat suffers dog attack". BBC. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  17. ^ Baird, Austin (2013-09-03). "Talkeetna 'Honorary Mayor,' Stubbs the Cat, Claws Way to Recovery". ktuu.com. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  18. ^ "Save Stubbs the Cat - Mayor of Talkeetna". Indiegogo. 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  19. ^ a b Carlton, Jim (2013-10-16). "Mayor of Alaskan Town Is a Cat". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
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