GOP candidates in the doghouse: 6 must-click links

1. "Dogs and Presidential Candidates: Man's Best Friend Dominates the Race," The Daily Beast


Leslie Bennett gives a snarky overview of the GOP hopefuls and the sometimes cynical, sometimes embarrassing pets stories that follow some of them around. Did you remember that Mitt Romney strapped his Irish Setter's carrier to the roof of the family car for a 12-hour road trip to Canada? Neither did we, but the Wall Street Journal did...

2. WSJ asks for Romney's side of the Seamus story
Asked to rebut charges that he's mean to dogs by the Wall Street Journal, Romney flailed a bit before an aide hurried to wrap up the Q&A. Watch the video at the link above.

Elsewhere on Shine: Michele Bachmann ends her 2012 run

3. Dogs Against Romney
The dog PAC(k) (geddit) at DogsAgainstRomney.com haven't forgotten either; the blog tracks media mentions of the story and has renewed their anti-Romney campaign for the 2012 election.

4. Pets With Newt
Newt Gingrich seems to have fallen back in the GOP pack somewhat of late, but his campaign is trying to appeal to voters via their pets with the Pets With Newt website. Supporters can send in photos of their pets along with testimonials about Gingrich; viewers, meanwhile, can enjoy the current photo of Gingrich on the homepage, which features the candidate being perched on by what look like lemurs.

On the Democratic side, Michelle Obama talks about First Dog Bo's popularity

5. 7 Pictures of Bachmanns and Dogs in Sunglasses
Michele Bachmann formally withdrew from the presidential race today, but not before the news broke that her husband Marcus had spent the previous day running errands -- specifically, buying sunglasses for their dog, Boomer. Inspired by that information, HuffPo put together a slideshow of various Bachmanns with various shades-wearing pooches.

6. Ron Paul dog-gear round-up
Vanity Fair's Juli Weiner put together a quick shopping list for the Ron Paul supporters whose hounds want -- nay, need -- a Facebook-like onesie showing they back Paul for president.

Further reading:
YCN's tips for safe road-tripping with your dog (hint: don't use the roof)

5 more animal blogs to waste time at work
New Year's pet-olutions