NEW YORK (WACH / AP) -- A protest outside the Westminster dog show aimed at Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney drew about a dozen demonstrators and a few pooches Tuesday.

The half-hour protest in front of Madison Square Garden took issue with Romney's oft-told story of traveling with his Irish setter. 

In a 2007 interview with Fox News, Romney said he put the dog inside an airtight kennel and strapped it to the roof rack for a 12-hour drive on a 1983 family vacation.

Protest spokeswoman Kitty Hendrix says the Dogs Against Romney website has about 25,000 members. The protesters held signs that said "Mitt is Mean" and "Dogs Aren't Luggage." A pug and a bull terrier joined their owners at the demonstration.

American Kennel Club spokeswoman Lisa Peterson says putting a dog in a crate for car travel is the first step toward responsible dog ownership. But she says the second step is putting that crate inside the car.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)