WASHINGTON (AP) – If the presidential election were up to pet owners, John McCain could have a blue ribbon in his future.

From George Washington’s foxhounds Drunkard and Tipsy to George W. Bush’s terriers Barney and Miss Beazley, pets are a longtime presidential tradition for which the presumed Republican nominee seems well prepared, with more than a dozen.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama, on the other hand, doesn’t have a pet, though he has promised his daughters a dog after the election, win or lose.

An AP-Yahoo News poll found that pet owners favor McCain over Obama 42 percent to 37 percent, with dog owners particularly in McCain’s corner.