NEW YORK — A protest outside the Westminster dog show aimed at Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney drew about a dozen demonstrators today, plus a few pooches.

The half-hour lunchtime demonstration in front of Madison Square Garden took issue with Romney’s oft-told story of traveling with his Irish setter, Seamus, on a family vacation in 1983. Romney has said he put the dog inside a crate and strapped it to the roof rack for a 12-hour drive from Boston to Canada.

Protest spokeswoman Kitty Hendrix said the Dogs Against Romney website that organized the demonstration has about 25,000 members. The protesters held signs that said “Mitt is Mean” and “Dogs Aren’t Luggage” and “I Ride Inside.”