I always knew that the New Zealanders were different to everyone else. These are sensible people, they are throwing their politicians to the dogs [^]. Unfortunately not quite literally!
The New Zealand petfood company, Mastepet has create dog toys modelled on the two leading Kiwi political leaders – the incumbent Helen Clark and challenger John Key. The sales of the toys will be used to unofficially track voter sentiment in the lead-up to the 8th November election. The toy that gets thrown to the dogs the most wins.
The website has also issued some guidelines for the use of the toy:
- Remember your purchase is part of a political poll – your vote counts
- Wear suitable ear protection when supervising your dog’s playtime with the toy. As with real politicians, the squealing can become quite deafening.
- Keep dog on a leash if around real politicians. Masterpet does not accept any liability for dog toy mistaken identity.
- When choosing a toy, take your dog along with you. Man’s best friend doesn’t like political ideologies thrust upon him/her more than the next person.
- If your dog destroys the politician in the first five minutes don’t hold this against your dog – the media do it every week! (Source:kiwiblog.co.nz [^])
Many comenters on the site have complained that the “Hulun” Clark toy has been made to look less unattractive than the real-life version. Is this so that the dogs don’t get scared-off?
Clark & Keys Politician Masterpet Dog Toys
The "Real" Helen Clark - 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand
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