Romney's Treatment of Family Dog On 1983 Vacation Becomes [2008 Campaign] Issue

Boston Globe ^ | Friday, June 29, 2007 06:31 PM | James F. Smith

[hardback]

The Globe's disclosure this week that Mitt Romney put his Irish setter into a dog carrier on the roof of his station wagon for a 12-hour trip to Ontario in 1983 has become a surprising flashpoint in the presidential campaign.

TIME.com has been flooded with more than 200 comments from readers complaining of animal cruelty, YouTube viewers have posted videos, and hundreds of blogs are brimming with opinions.

For some, the story has become an occasion to consider larger issues of ethics and animal abuse. Romney, who has built an image as a strong manager, is now facing concerns about his ability to empathize with the less powerful, in this case, his dog, Seamus, riding atop his station wagon.

"I'll admit that I`m coming from a dog-centric point of view," Tucker Carlson, the conservative pundit, said Thursday on MSNBC. "But I'm feeling that maybe Mitt Romney lost my vote here. Do you need to be a PETA member to be disturbed by the fact that this guy put a dog on the roof of his car? Does that bother you?"

For some critics, the answer was yes.

Family members told the Globe that Romney attached a special windshield onto Seamus' carrier to protect him from the wind. Romney was traveling that summer with his wife, five sons, and Seamus to his parent's cottage on Lake Huron.

But hours into the ride, Seamus apparently suffered diarrhea, which ran down the back window of the car. Romney's sons, all under 13, howled in disgust. Romney pulled off the road into a service station. There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, and they drove on to Ontario.

[Clara Lou]

Enough, already. Enough.

[Clara Lou]

Make that “Enough, newbie.” Are you a troll?

[beltfed308]

No fan of Romney but this is beyond petty.

[ChocChipCookie]

TIME.com has been flooded with more than 200 comments from readers complaining of animal cruelty,

WHOA! A whole 200????

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

He’ll treat those who elect him much worse than he treats his dog.

[the invisib1e hand]

my brother went around the US for months on a motorcylce (Kawasaki 900-Z1) with a custom-made open trailer (way before it was commonplace) in which rode his dog Beano and, back then people really dug it. Beano dug it, too.

Politics is fad and nothing else. I'd never vote for anyone from Mass, let alone Romney, but if I weren't so disinclined, this might actually endear him to me.

[cherry]

I don’t like the man but this is ridiculous......

[BenLurkin]

Old news.

[B.O. Plenty]

Desperately digging.

If this is the worst that Mr. Smith can dig up, he is wasting his time.

[BenLurkin]

Indeed!

This thread is likely to get more than 200 — especially if the kittens are called.

[HerrBlucher]

Looks to me like the dog was scared sh**tless up there on the roof and definitely NOT having a good time. Bad human Mitt...BAD....BAD...

[italianquaker]

this makes him look bad and the media will not let it go away

[TAP ONLINE]

I vaguely remember that Hillary had a piece of property in the Whitewater deal. It was sold to a black family. The man became ill and fell one payment behind. His wife contacted the lenders and found out that missing one payment forfeited the property to the lenders. Hillary got the property back. The whitewater corporation was the lender. Treated that family like a dog. Guess it does not count when a Democrat who cares does it

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

The dog needed only to have his back to the wind if the wind bothered him. Has no one seen dogs stick their heads out of car windows? Granted a higher speed would be a lot of wind, but the dog could lie down and close his eyes and it would have been enough. He is covered in fur. With his back to the wind it would not have been an issue at all. And anyone who knows dogs knows that if he had been miserable, he would have barked liked crazy and got the change he needed.

This is stupid. I don't want Romney to win (please no!) but I do not favor trumped up charged against anyone. The roof may not have been the best place, but at least they had their dog with them. How many people cage their dog at some shelter for their vacations?

[DieselHoplite]

“”Tucker Carlson, the conservative pundit, said Thursday on MSNBC. “But I’m feeling that maybe Mitt Romney lost my vote here.”

LOL Tucker Carlson is a joke. He’s been bashing Romney for months now. Ya sure he just lost his vote. The MSM is just getting more and more discredited with each day that goes by.

[Condor51]

Romney Is Griswold!

Remember that famous scene in National Lampoon’s Vacation where Clark Griswold is pulled over by a policeman for dragging Aunt Edna’s disgusting mutt behind the car for several miles? Well, it turns out that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney had a similar episode on a family vacation of his own. He even had his own “family truckster,” albeit a better color!

(From the Boston Globe) - The white Chevy station wagon with the wood paneling was overstuffed with suitcases, supplies, and sons when Mitt Romney climbed behind the wheel to begin the annual 12-hour family trek from Boston to Ontario.

…As the oldest son, Tagg Romney commandeered the way-back of the wagon, keeping his eyes fixed out the rear window, where he glimpsed the first sign of trouble. ‘’Dad!'’ he yelled. ‘’Gross!'’ A brown liquid was dripping down the back window, payback from an Irish setter who’d been riding on the roof in the wind for hours.

In English - who gives a shiite. He's human, whoopee!
And what's next, he once flushed a Goldfish down the toilet?

[Aria]

Really? One payment? I never heard about that...if a Republican had done that it would have been front page, headlines, above the fold NYT, lead story on the TV.....

They get away with murder....they’re sociopaths. No remorse at all for who they run over to get what they want.

[elizabetty]

Indeed, this is the most burning issue facing us.

Pay no attention to that Burning Airport in Scotland, a dog was exposed to fresh air 30 years ago.

[HerrBlucher]

The fact that the dog had diahrea indicates to me he was scared. Most dogs love to be in the back of a pick up but probably not tied down to the top of the car in a small cage. Its possible that the dog could have been made to get used to it by taking him on small rides at first then longer and longer....each time giving the dog lots of comfort and affection after the ride.

This sort of reminds me of LBJ picking up his beagles by the ears....he got a lot of flak for that IIRC.

[Tall_Texan]

In fairness, the media went nuts also when LBJ picked a beagle up by its ears...

If there weren't idiots out there who decide that how a candidate treats animals is worthy consideration for how they would be as president, this sort of story would have no legs.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

He flushed the second amendment down the toilet in massachusetts.

[italianquaker]

the media is going to use this like they used macacca and mitt gave them the ammo

[TAP ONLINE]

I think it was in the American Spectator. Might have been a cover story.

[indcons]

“Romney, who has built an image as a strong manager, is now facing concerns about his ability to empathize with the less powerful, in this case, his dog,”

Note to MSM: Give me a break, please. Why don’t we see stories on Hillary’s “lack of empathy” for her “husband’s” rape victims? Or Hussein Barak Obama’s lack of empathy for his own mother (who was married to a drunk and a wife beater)?

[indcons]

You seem to have deduced quite a bit from the dog’s scat habits. Did you interview the dog or did you merely read its autobiography on DU?

P.S.: I don’t care much for Romney but this is plain ridiculous.

[freespirited]

I miss the Licorice stories.

[LibertyRocks]

WHOA! A whole 200????
It’s probably the whole PETA membership roster... LOL

I don’t support Mitt Romney due to his treatment of the 2nd Amendment among other things, but I have to say I can’t picture putting my dog on the top of my car for a 12-hour trip — that HAD to not be fun for the dog... This is just the kind of thing that would stick in a voter’s mind and send him sliding down a couple more points, IMHO. Can you imagine addressing that in a nationwide Presidential Debate — because you KNOW it’s going to be asked about repeatedly now, and the liberals will just keep hounding him about it? (Oops... No pun intended... (o:)

[Politicalmom]

I just keep remembering my VERY securely tied down car carrier flying off the roof of my van in the middle of Texas.

I was going 70, and hit a bump, and there it went.

[DieselHoplite]

LOL the dog enjoyed it! Romney said he got into the cage on his own wagging the tail and all. How many dogs you know ever been to Canada? This dog got top notch treatment. PETA should investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of hillary’s dog Buddy.

[DieselHoplite]

The NRA disagrees with you:

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=1149

[MEGoody]

Uh huh, like I buy this story.

[Saundra Duffy]

Beyond petty . . . but I guess it’s all they could dig up. Pretty sad.

[Saundra Duffy]

The Clinton’s heartlessly gave away their kitty cat and then someone ran over their dog, probably because they weren’t careful about housing their dog. Now that’s shameful. Remember Lyndon Johnson yanking his poor dogs’ ears? I thought that was cruel.

The Romney family is a loving family; I’m sure the dog was not harmed, probably enjoyed it.

[Inspectorette]

In fairness, the media went nuts also when LBJ picked a beagle up by its ears...

Of course, this was 40 years ago when LBJ was ramping up the Vietnam War. (Also before Watergate - the media hasn't gone after 'Rats since then.)

[ichabod1]

He says his dog loved it. He said when they’d stop and let him out and were ready to go again they’d say “Ready Boy? Les’ go!” and he’d hop back up there and get in on his own.

This is a test. It’s a test of how he handles it. It’s his macaca moment. If he starts shucking and jiving and apologizin’ and dancing to their tune, he’s toast.

[plain talk]

“Romney, who has built an image as a strong manager, is now facing concerns about his ability to empathize with the less powerful, in this case, his dog,”

OK. Let's compare Romney's tereatment of his dog and then also compare Hillary's treatment of servants and let's see which one gets the greater disdain by the public.

[Mr Inviso]

this is ridiculous. The dog was an Irish Setter. They’re not exactly prime examples of canine mental stability to begin with. I wouldn’t put a dog crate on top of a vehicle, but it’s not THAT big of a deal, and it was decades ago. Sheesh.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Then the NRA has sold out.

Something astute Freepers have accused them of for years.

“Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts,” Romney said, at a bill signing ceremony with legislators, sportsmen’s groups and gun safety advocates. “These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people.”

Like the federal assault weapons ban, the state ban, put in place in 1998, was scheduled to expire in September. The new law ensures these deadly weapons, including AK-47s, UZIs and Mac-10 rifles, are permanently prohibited in Massachusetts no matter what happens on the federal level.

Romney’s a commie turd.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Enjoyed it so much he crapped all over the car.

Romney is just like Bush. Intelligent people warned everyone about Bush in 98 and 99.

Now there’s little left of the nation to give away. Romney would be glad to put the final nails into the coffin.

[Fudd Fan]

Hillery-Rotten gets away with murder (possibly literally!) and we’re supposed to be repulsed by *THIS*? Give me a break.

[weegee]

Has Time bothered to raise up any “old” issues any time Ted Kennedy seeks political limelight?

Or is that best left dead and buried?

[weegee]

The media doesn’t use LBJ’s treatment of his dog ages ago as a reason to STILL sully his name.

[Tall_Texan]

Well, LBJ has been dead for over 30 years and doesn’t plan to run for president anytime soon so that may be a factor.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Well, if my dog got the runs on car trips, I’d seriously think about keeping him out of the car. 1983? Is this the best they can do to smear Mitt?

[DanTheAdmin]

Hey, Kennedy killed a woman in his car - at least the dog lived!

[HerrBlucher]

You seem to have deduced quite a bit from the dog’s scat habits. Did you interview the dog or did you merely read its autobiography on DU?

Runny bowels are a common indicator of fear.....the term scared s**tless didn't come out of the blue....

Regarding DU....LOL...is that all ya got?

This happened many years ago. If the dog genuinely enjoyed it, as Mitt says...then so be it. I know hang glider pilots who have taken their dogs up and they did like it. Still....prima facie poo poo on the roof seems to indicate otherwise.

Mitt is moot though....Fred will sweep o'er the land like a mighty wave and Mitt will experience what is known in surfing as a "wipeout."

[indcons]

Sorry about the DU reference.

Re: Mitt he has bigger problems than his dog’s imagined travails.

The guy is now on the record for amnesty: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858882/posts?page=5#5

[Zman516]

What? Mitt's dog was named Seamus?

Why, Mitt must have been or continues to be a PINK FLOYD fan! We cannot allow a PF fan to be president! Get the pitchforks and light the torches!**

**So we can "fork" the editors and burn down the offices of that worthless rag, The Boston Glob.

[Saundra Duffy]

Romney loves America. What he did for the Olympics, he can do for America. Go, Mitt!