Mitt Romney's Dog Incident Comes Back To Haunt Him (PHOTO)

When Mitt Romney strapped his Irish setter to the roof of his car in 1983 and drove all the way to Canada as the dog defecated in fear, he couldn't have guessed his decision would follow him for decades, enraging animal lovers and raising questions about his character and management style.

Sure enough the dog incident has gotten a lot of press (Gail Collins has mentioned it 19 times in her columns) and is sure to be a favorite topic among Romney detractors during his 2012 campaign for president.

On Thursday, a Romney protestor in South Carolina strapped a stuffed dog to his roof, as seen below in the photo by ABC's Emily Friedman. See a photo of the late Romney dog, Seamus, here.

PHOTO:

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Comments

[XXXAmberLynns]

06:18 PM on 10/15/2012

So IF ROMNEY was GOD FORBID to become President we could get rid of airforce one and jjust strap him to the roof of a station wagon for travel and when he craps we'll just hose him down and put him back in the crate and continue. Interesting!

[jennifem4]

10:30 AM on 09/22/2012

Well - now what do I do. This is awful whether the dog was in a cage or not - of all things I am, an animal lover is one of the biggest. I hate Obama - I'm not going to even vote - what difference does it make anyway - we're doomed.

[RussellB]

05:22 PM on 10/11/2012

That's the American spirit!

[Jef Mindrup]

05:18 PM on 07/21/2012

Dogs Against Mitt - DAM-MITT http://www.dam-mitt.com/

[RainOnRoses]

01:26 PM on 06/12/2012

Yes my Dad has had many dogs who rode in the back of his pickup. However, they always had a choice of lying down to get out of the wind. To strap one into a small carrier allowing no movement and no choice I consider abuse.

[AgentOfReason]

03:19 PM on 03/19/2013

Really? Not the fact that the straps could come loose and the dog goes flying at 100MPH? You're worried that it can't move? Dogs in the back of a pickup are no safer from accidents.

[MacHuffP]

10:41 PM on 04/20/2012

"…Mitt Romney strapped his Irish setter to the roof of his car in 1983 and drove all the way to Canada as the dog defecated in fear…"

The dog's CARRIER was strapped to the car, NOT the DOG.
Huge difference. Dogs ride pickup trucks, stick heads out of car windows.

The author hurts credibility of HP.

As independent, I disregard race, party, gender, religion. I consider Character, Credibility, Credentials, Capability, Candor, Charisma.

Dog strapped to the roof - Romney's bad Character.
Carrier strapped to the roof - OK.

The dog "incident" works for Obama. Here, in Quick Poll, about 40% answered Yes to question "dog incident makes you less likely to vote for Romney?" and 15% answered No.

Romney's campaign responded using Obama's book "Dreams from My Father".
Obama, as a boy in Indonesia, recalls, "I was introduced to dog meat (tough), snake meat (tougher), and roasted grasshopper (crunchy)"

Liberal author Robert Paul Reyes, "…I'm to the left of Obama, but I don't share his view of moral equivalency. America is the greatest country in the world, and almost all Muslim countries treat women like second-class citizens, and religious minorities as less than human.

If Mitt Romney can be held accountable for mistreating Seamus almost 30 years ago (and I'm glad he is), then Obama can be held accountable for eating dog meat as a child, and not condemning the practice as an adult when he wrote his autobiography..."

http://newsblaze.com/story/20120419065025reye.nb/topstory.html

[Guitarpah]

07:46 PM on 04/23/2012

Eating dog meat as a child is not the same as strapping a box to a roof, and subjecting a dog 12 hours of vomit-inducing, hurricane-force winds because you didn't want him to sit on your kids lap.

[Michelle Karma Johnston]

08:29 AM on 10/16/2012

So, let me get this straight.... you would put your pet in a carrier and strap said carrier to the roof of your car? And upon seeing this, I would be phoning animal welfare to report your cruelty. Have you ever SEEN a carrier? Especially the open ones from years ago? The dog had NO protection from elements and no where to curl up and get out of the wind. Yeah, I would be "defecating" with fear if someone put me in a cage and on the roof of a car, but whatever you say. I feel very sorry for your pets with this attitude.

[Carolyn Flores]

12:20 AM on 03/22/2012

This is so ridiculous for so many reasons. It was Romney's dog. Romney knew his dog better than all of you do. If he thought the dog was safe and secure where he put it, then it was. Does Romney really strike anyone as some kind of a sicko who gets off on abusing animals? Anyway, you see dogs all the time riding unrestrained in the back of pickups (where they are less secure than in a carrier that is STRAPPED to a vehicle). For crying out loud, you see them surfing on surfboards on the ocean. This is just a diversion from the real issues.

[dranalog]

12:04 AM on 04/14/2012

Romney does indeed strike me as a sicko. He usually gets off on making people lose their jobs while making a huge profit for himself, the dog torture was just a side thing.

[vicco]

11:50 AM on 06/01/2012

yes he does....just like slave owners who got off on whipping THEIR slaves. Abuse of a sentient creature is abuse no matter who does it. However you were exactly on point with "for crying out loud"....

[Frank Toledo]

06:10 PM on 03/13/2012

Here is why I'm changing my mind on this matter: He has 5 sons. I'd expect that at least 2 of them had a special fondness for the dog. If putting the dog on the roof was really unpleasant for the animal and obviously not where the dog desired to be, he would have had to deal with his children wondering why he was torturing the family dog. A 12 hour car ride with your young children worried frantically about their favorite dog on the roof? That would be far worse than a ride with the dog inside. Dogs often ride in the back of cars in covered kennels with no idea what is going on. This isn't really any different. We are mystifying the story because the "roof of the car" sounds terrible. In reality, if the kennel was secure, it's the same as any location. Dogs don't perceive things like we do "What the crap? I'm on the roof of a car!" Applying human values to the emotional inputs of a dog is what makes this story seem horrible. Actually, as I write this, I'm beginning to feel Romney might be my guy because he was able to look pragmatically and logically at the situation, removing feelings from the equation and coming up with a solution that was sound, despite being emotionally twisting from our human vantage.

[IAmCharlyBrown]

09:33 AM on 03/14/2012

Shoving a dog in an enclosed space like that is probably going to be stressful enough. Then add 65mph winds battering you for 12 hours? Pretty sure that counts as abuse.

[Guitarpah]

07:51 PM on 04/23/2012

That must be why so many people don't open the windows when doing 90 down the highway for 12 hours, because it offends their human values. Not because it is terrible. If I every saw someone doing this at a highway gas station, they would leave in a ambulance and I in a police car, and it would be worth it.

[Ambient2012]

12:12 PM on 03/08/2012

I'm not fond of any of the candidates this year, but if I actually had a choice in the matter, I'd have Ron Paul lead. But that's not going to happen since the election is fixed, I'll take another Obama term over him.

[elanna068]

07:10 PM on 09/20/2012

Can you define "fixed"?

[Michelle Karma Johnston]

08:33 AM on 10/16/2012

You think elections are really fair and as they should be!?!?!?! Oh, to have those rose colored glasses again....

[elanna068]

01:04 PM on 10/16/2012

photo
Michelle Karma Johnston October 16, 2012 at 8:33am

You think elections are really fair and as they should be!?!?!?! Oh, to have those rose colored glasses again....

Well no I don't think elections are as fair as they should be. If they were we would not have had to endure the election of George W. Bush in his first term. The elections in Florida,( his brothers governed state by the way,) were fixed!!!

[iGiveapoop]

11:04 AM on 03/02/2012

There's a difference between a dog riding with it's head out the window and this. This sounds like something out of the vacation movies...only this isn't funny. What a sick man.

[angeladytx]

12:19 AM on 02/22/2012

Really? Our dog loves to ride on our motorcycle. What's the difference? You stop, let the dog eat, drink, run... get back in his comfy house (or on the motorcycle) and ride. People, get a grip. Don't we all love the wind in our hair? I'd ride in a seat on top of the car, even better, a house!

[paramahamsa2]

03:30 AM on 02/25/2012

It's abuse.

[mimijuicy]

10:24 PM on 03/06/2012

Ok so if you put your dog in the motorcycle and it crapped itself in terror, would you hose the dog off and strap it back in??? Please watch this video to see what the dog might have experienced. It doesn't look like a joy ride to me..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaiOdVM5z5o

[Waltereg0]

06:11 PM on 02/20/2012

Dems are too sensitive, everything is an atrocity to them.

[rcwblessed]

11:35 PM on 02/24/2012

I don't look at it as being "too sensitive"... more like caring about others (including animals), and most importantly, having a soul and a conscience. Republicans seem to have a huge void all around.

[Lite999]

08:35 PM on 03/03/2012

Romney is a fricking sociopath. His own platform changes and he doesn't really believe much of anything unless it gets him elected.

He abused that animal hideously.

[Cream Rises to the top]

09:45 PM on 02/17/2012

I have seen dags in back of pick up trucks with no protection whatsoever. Romney said the dog was inside the kennel which was strapped down. Dogs love to stick their heads out of windows, you can't say they don't love the wind. There are wose things wot worry about.

[nomoresoundbytes]

11:53 AM on 02/20/2012

So the crap running down the back window was just fine....and the total lack of humanity was just GOP normalcy. Got it.

[mimijuicy]

10:20 PM on 03/06/2012

Would you do this to your dog??? Simpleton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaiOdVM5z5o

[Kamil Arcadius Skorupa]

07:17 PM on 02/17/2012

What a terrible person.

[VoteforMittplz]

09:39 PM on 02/16/2012

He's not perfect, but he's still the best choice. Good luck electing a president that has never made a mistake. At least he didn't cheat on his wife, get investigated for ethic violations, or use cocaine. Here's a guy whose donated several millions to charity and is a true advocate for conservatism and family values. Vote Mitt or keep subsidizing the folks who won't work and heck, lets pay there healthcare too.

[empirenine]

05:31 PM on 02/17/2012

He's not the best choice, by a long shot. He is the status quo. Ron Paul is the only choice if ANYTHING is going to change in the next 4 years.

[Blissable]

07:48 PM on 02/17/2012

If Ron Paul got in I would totally Romney. Google it. http://spreadingromney.com/

[nomoresoundbytes]

11:56 AM on 02/20/2012

I am concerned about "there" morality, them thar conservatism advocates. Just 'cuz you don't do drugs or are caught cheating on your HETEROSEXUAL spouse, doesn't make you a saint. I'm certain he gets some kickbacks due to those charitable contributions, too.

[Tomato Cain]

02:13 PM on 02/20/2012

So you're saying there has to be something hidden and diabolical about him we don't see. Would you be more comfortable with a candidate who advocates the practice of live term abortion?

[MER1962]

11:08 PM on 07/17/2012

It should be "their" healthcare, we get it. Please don't assume that all conservatives are mouth-breathing, knuckle dragging neanderthals. (Please see Tomato Cain's post below, which reflects a conservative who used the proper use of "you're" as well as "there" and "don't." (And yes, he/she SHOULD have used a question mark at the end of the first sentence. That doesn't mean he/she is a blithering idiot!)

[janeinmia]

04:37 PM on 02/16/2012

I would never, ever vote for the guy, but, more pertinent to this story, I would never vote for any politician of any party or political persuasion, who would do something like this and then chuckle about it!

And I don't know if it's true, but there are some stories reporting that once the Romneys got to Canada, the dog "ran away" and never returned home with them.