I was pretty stoked when I heard about The Dog Vote. I’ve been an activist for the Dogs Suffrage movement for nearly four dog years now and I haven’t had a lot of luck making progress with homo sapiens. So when I saw a link and a little description of the website on DogBook last week, I thought: Finally. A place where dogs like me can have a bark in the world of politics.

What I found was something else altogether. What I found was just another mainstream site trying to shove the two party system down my throat. There, featured prominently on the site, were Barack Obama and John McCain. Okay, I thought, fine. These are the two leading candidates right now. Maybe I just need to look around to find the complete debate. And so I looked. And looked. And was appalled. I found a poll listing seven political pundits and a “preference for dirty socks” option, but only two presidential candidates are mentioned on the site. Only two options for dog bandanas.

Did you think, because we’re dogs, that we are unable to comprehend the Libertarian Party? Did you think because we don’t have fingers for easy typing we’d somehow miss the grassroots campaign of the Ron Paul Revolution? Well, I have news for you—we didn’t. Among canines, Ron Paul is quite popular.

I am aware of the fact that Ron Paul dropped out of the race for presidency this upcoming term. Can The Dog Vote alone be blamed for his demise? No, probably not. But The Dog Vote is perpetuating a trend that isn’t going to fly in the dog world. So here’s your wake up call: If you truly want to help the cause of dogs everywhere, or even if you just want to avoid a dogcott, you will need to find space for Ron Paul on your website. I like sniffing ass as much as the next bitch, but you’ve got your head stuck in a little too far and it’s time you got it out of there.

-Dora
Labradoodle
Burnsville, MN