As someone said on Twitter (probably), no election day is complete without #dogsatpollingstations, and the 2017 general election has not failed to live up to the billing, with charities gamely joining in.
Demonstrating how easy it can be to seize the zeitgeist and raise awareness for a campaign with a well-timed hashtag, the Dogs Trust has linked up with Twitter this year to encourage polling stations to become "paw-ing stations", providing wellbeing tips for dog owners and volunteers at the voting venues. Twitter has also created a new emoji for the hashtag.
Jon Gerlis, campaigns officer at the Dogs Trust, said: "We’re delighted that everyone is as excited by #dogsatpollingstations as we are, and we want to show that with just a few simple steps polling stations can become paw-ing stations by keeping dogs happy and safe."
Dara Nasr, managing director of Twitter UK, said: "A great thing about Twitter is the unexpected trends that we see borne out of the imagination of the general public. Nothing encapsulates this more than #dogsatpollingstations, where we see this levity in full effect. Plus it gets bigger and more widespread every time we head to the polls."
Celebrities were quick to get on board with the campaign, including CBBC’s Hacker, who tweeted on his way to vote (presumably in Wigan), and JK Rowling, although the Harry Potter author’s four-legged friend was clearly not too keen on getting out in the rain.
Today's the day -#dogsatpollingstations! We've teamed up with @TwitterUK to launch new emoji & 'Paw-ing Stations' > https://t.co/29cohDuhIg pic.twitter.com/sDfo3Gs1xh
— Dogs Trust ?? (@DogsTrust) June 8, 2017
I'm back here again! I'm not sure what everyone does inside there, but I hope someone brings me biscuits this time! #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/W8TwOXbooO
— Hacker T Dog (@CBBC_Hacker) June 8, 2017
It was raining too hard to get a pic of her outside the polling station. #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/RNHtxWTfdx
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 8, 2017
Other canine-focused charities boosted their profiles and joined in the fun:
TILLY SAYS Happy voting tomorrow, don't forget to take your dogs along to the polling stations & tweet us your pics #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/gUzdsH80Qt
— GreyhoundRescueWales (@WelshGreyhounds) June 7, 2017
Can I take my dog inside a polling station? Your dog-related election questions answered! https://t.co/REf6Hss5xX #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/foN09BWKC1
— Blue Cross (@The_Blue_Cross) June 7, 2017
Meanwhile, voters took to the Twittersphere to make party political pooch points:
Got excited then realised she had to sit in the rain for like 30secs ?? #Voted #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/j977A0QGtL
— Jade Dunkley (@jid1993) June 8, 2017
vote for pawbyn #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/L4mPy81DSY
— ?? jes ?? (@jesrpb) June 8, 2017
We went along with the human today - unimpressed that we couldn't vote for our favourite biscuits #DogsAtPollingStations #pitpatpolls pic.twitter.com/keFx1c2d13
— Megan, Woody & Wilma (@Cotswoldspaniel) June 8, 2017
Voting locally, hoping nationally - with coats to match our local/national colours. #PlaidCymru #Labour #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/2MeyihQgu0
— Ystrad (@juliet_morris) June 8, 2017
But another typically British trait is to support the underdog – or, in this case, undercat. To buck the trend, here's a tweet from Gladstone:
Forget #dogsatpollingstations Every polling station should have a cat ?? pic.twitter.com/sbX3KXNwvj
— Gladstone (@TreasuryMog) June 7, 2017
The final word goes to one particular cat with a keen interest in who will be renting his house for the next five years:
Foolish dogs; while they're all posing at polling stations we cats have had the rest of the country to ourselves! #dogsatpollingstations
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) June 8, 2017
