Broward Politics: Dogs Are Sniffing Out Votes
BY BUDDY NEVINS
In the dogged hunt for votes leading up to the August primary a few candidates now have some real canine help.
PetsVote, a creation of a veteran Broward political consultant, will blast email the ad below to roughly 100,000 Democrats in the county.
Featuring dogs, it is designed to catch eyeballs before a voter hits the delete bottom. Perhaps they will glance at the pictures and endorsements.
It can’t hurt. Many love to look at pictures of dogs, as Instagram has proved. Unless you are LBJ, the president who infamously picked up his dog Him by his ears in front of cameras annoying a pack of dog lovers.
And there are a lot of dog lovers. So many, in fact, that Broward candidates who don’t have their own pets have been known to borrow a neighbor’s dogs for their ads.
PetsVote fits right in.
In addition to the email blast, Facebook and Twitter posts are planned. A palm card is also in the works, but that depends on what’s happening with the Corona virus as the primary approaches.
It’s the idea of Michael Ahearn, a political strategist and lawyer who is a bona fide dog lover with dogs. Over the years, Ahearn has rescued many dogs.
Michael Ahearn’s current rescue dogs
“PetsVote was inspired by my rescue dog Foster, who we saved after he was a bait dog for a dogfighting ring. Foster died of a brain tumor last year, and it inspired me to bring PetsVote into existence finally.”
Foster
He says other dog lovers and political folks helped him pick the candidates to endorse, although the three top ones below are clearly favorites of Ahearn.
PetsVote is largely funded by Ahearn to date and a retiree whose address is a bail bonds office near the Fort Lauderdale Main Courthouse.
What about cats?
“Love cats,” Ahearn emailed Browardbeat. “The one at my house has his own room (to keep em away from the 4 dogs, for the protection of the dogs since the cat kicks their asses. Lol”
PetsVote’s initial ad for Internet, email blast ad and possible palm card. The card contains other endorsements Browardbeat didn’t reproduce because they are not holding dogs. Those candidates include School Board member Heather Brinkworth, Clerk of the Courts Brenda Forman and County Judge Natasha DePrimo among others.
June 11th, 2020 at 11:39 am
I been saying for years if your running for any elected office if u don’t have a dog get one.That and also pics if your family..Yeah, isn’t that something.Forget about qualifications etc yup those family pics and pics with your pets is a big hit.
June 11th, 2020 at 12:42 pm
Soon there will be a PAC for french fries.
June 11th, 2020 at 5:26 pm
I do love dogs. However, doesn’t this idea conflict with the oppressive political correctness dominating our culture? Really, where are the cats, ferrets, monkeys, iguanas, horses, and all others in the animal kingdom mentioned?
June 12th, 2020 at 8:30 am
People are stupid. Dogs on laps does not mean with good government.
June 12th, 2020 at 1:28 pm
Too bad the Dogs (and my rescue cats) are BOTH SMARTER n MORE HONEST than MOST COUNTY electeds n candidates NOW N IN THE PAST FEW YEARS
June 12th, 2020 at 3:19 pm
Considering they claimed they research each candidate and investigated each candidate regarding their support of the local pet community, no one contacted me regarding my rescue of ten cats from the streets that were abandoned, stray and feral prior to making their endorsement of my opponent. While I kept two and now have three indoor cats, the other seven I helped place in small cat rescue organizations that were legitimate and safe. I literally get bit from fleas and mites doing this as a good Samaritan and have to wear rain boots to avoid ticks in grass. I have spent my own monies feeding cats and having them vetted as an intervention to improve their lives from the elements of prior living on the street. While this interest has been in the last three years and did not technically take place in Broward county, I nonetheless, have tried to help these cats improve their state of being even though mainly in the Panhandle. As prior explained, I had been a Broward county resident for nearly 12 years and I am mainly resided near Tallahassee for State employment.