My Dog Votes Blog

Dog Owners Key To Local Elections - My Dog Votes™ Announces Results Of Political Opinion Survey

MY DOG VOTES™ ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF FIRST NATIONWIDE POLITICAL OPINION SURVEY OF DOG OWNERS

Survey Confirms Dog Owners May Be Key To Outcome Of Local Elections

New York, NY - October 30, 2006      My Dog Votes™ Brand T-Shirts, the company with a mission of Saving Dogs & Democracy™, announced today the results of the first nationwide political survey of dog owners.  The My Dog Votes™ Voter Opinion Survey pulsed the political opinions, levels of civic engagement, and probed voting trends of dog owners, who comprise nearly half of all U.S. households.

A key finding of the My Dog Votes™ Voter Opinion survey showed that a whopping 98.6% of the dog owners said a candidate’s position or track record on dog-related laws and policy would influence their vote in a local or state election. Dog ownership cuts across political, social and economic barriers.

The My Dog Votes™ Voter Opinion Survey, administered late last year with results complied in early March, sought to validate the notion that dog owners are a viable, cultural political constituency in local or state elections, and measure the political impact of local legislation, policy and issues that negatively effect dog ownership, as well as provide insight to key factors that motivate voter participation by dog owners.

Conducted online, the My Dog Votes™ Voter Opinion Survey sampled the opinions of over 1000 dog owners. Dog owners answered 118 questions on topics such as homeowner’s insurance discrimination, breed bans, weight and size restrictions, pet limit laws, public space bans, and mandatory microchipping laws. 

My Dog Votes™ Surveys Louisville Metro Candidates

MY DOG VOTES™ LAUNCHES DOG-FRIENDLY VOTER  AWARENESS SURVEY  TO PULSE  LOUISVILLE METRO CANDIDATES

Louisville, KY – October 17, 2006 – Elections in Louisville this November are going to the dogs! To help inform the voting public, My Dog Votes™, the company with a mission of Saving Dogs & Democracy™, announced it would conduct the first ever “My Dog Votes™ Voter Awareness Survey” of candidates running for the offices of Mayor and Council in the Louisville Metro area.

The My Dog Votes™ Voter Awareness Survey seeks to answer the question, “Is Your Candidate Dog-Friendly?” That’s the question on the minds of dog owners in Louisville and across the country, who contact the company asking for recommendations on local candidates running for office. The company is known for its national, nonpartisan efforts to inspire voter registration, however does not make endorsements of political parties or candidates.

The My Dog Votes™ Voter Awareness Survey is administered online and asks candidates for their views on a number of different dog-related topics, including breed discrimination, leash law enforcement, banning dogs from public parks, and more.  It is believed to be the first candidate survey of its kind anywhere in the nation. 

“Helping to inform voters is extremely important”, said Barbara Haywood, founder of My Dog Votes™.  “Dog owners care deeply about their communities, and they view their dogs as special members of their families, which is why they concerned with a candidate’s position on dog-related laws”.  Earlier this year, the company also conducted the country’s first political survey of dog owners, a demographic that is emerging as a powerful voting bloc, especially in local and state elections. “Our goal is to see 100% participation by the candidates”, said Ms. Haywood.

The online survey was sent to candidates running for Mayor of Louisville Metro, including incumbent Jerry Abramson and contender Kelly Downard, as well as candidates running for Louisville Metro Council. 

Results of the Louisville My Dog Votes™ Voter Awareness Survey will be posted on the company’s website, www.mydogvotes.com, as they become available.

In the effort to help educate and inspire voter participation, My Dog Votes™ also plans to survey candidates for local and state offices in other cities in the coming months.

Pooch Day Features My Dog Votes Campaign

Pooch Day Features My Dog Votes Campaign

Homemade doggy treats, a walk through the woods, grooming sessions, blessings from a minister and a chance to "vote" turned a Putnam County park into a noisy dog run yesterday.

Billed as a "fun-filled dog day in the park" to benefit the Putnam Humane Society, this year's event at Veterans Memorial Park in Kent also featured organizers from a group that wants to put politicians on notice that dogs can be constituents, too.

Dog owners need to be more vocal at election time, said Mahlon Goer, a member of the Dog Federation of New York.

"Don't let them slip by with 'I love dogs.' Ask them what they're going to do for you," Goer urged dog owners who stopped by the booth emblazoned with signs reading "My Dog Votes," the name of a national campaign.

Goer said dog owners could push local and state legislators to make their communities more amenable to dog owners: "We want to inspire dog owners to get involved in the political process." She cited as a major issue recent moves by insurance companies to strip homeowners of their policies if they own certain types of dogs. Access to parks was another goal that dog owners should lobby for, she said. The issue of municipal restrictions on the number of animals that a person can own is another topic in which the group is involved.

Dog owner Peter Menken of Stormville, N.Y., said a dog-friendly political movement made sense to him. "I think it's a good idea to know what candidates think about dogs," he said, and there are many restrictions on dog ownership which he has become aware of only since adopting an American foxhound named Skip.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060924/NEWS04/609240321/1020