A three-year-old Pit Bull Terrier has been elected mayor of a tiny Kentucky town, beating rivals including a chicken, a donkey and a young boy.

The new mayor, named Brynneth Pawltro, is actually the fourth dog chosen as mayor of Rabbit Hash.

With a population of just 315, according to the 2010 US census, it is too small for a real mayor.

But locals have held elections for the mayor's position since the late 1990s as a fund-raiser.

Brynneth's victory raised more than US$3,000 (S$4,200) at a rate of one dollar a vote.

"You vote as often as you want," Rabbit Hash Historical Society member, Ms Bobbi Kayser, told local TV station WDRB.

The society, which organises the ballot, has dedicated the money to restoring the town's only significant building, the general store, which was damaged by fire last year.

On the campaign trail, Ms Jodi Bamforth, owner of Brynneth, promised that the new mayor would help to sniff out the community's problems.