Romney straps dog to roof of family car

[RecycleMichael]

Hard to believe, but it is true.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1638065,00.html

The reporter intended the anecdote that opened part four of the Boston Globe's profile of Mitt Romney to illustrate, as the story said, "emotion-free crisis management": Father deals with minor — but gross — incident during a 1983 family vacation, and saves the day. But the details of the event are more than unseemly — they may, in fact, be illegal.

The incident: dog excrement found on the roof and windows of the Romney station wagon. How it got there: Romney strapped a dog carrier — with the family dog Seamus, an Irish Setter, in it — to the roof of the family station wagon for a twelve hour drive from Boston to Ontario, which the family apparently completed, despite Seamus's rather visceral protest.

Massachusetts's animal cruelty laws specifically prohibit anyone from carrying an animal "in or upon a vehicle, or otherwise, in an unnecessarily cruel or inhuman manner or in a way and manner which might endanger the animal carried thereon." An officer for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals responded to a description of the situation saying "it's definitely something I'd want to check out." The officer, Nadia Branca, declined to give a definitive opinion on whether Romney broke the law but did note that it's against state law to have a dog in an open bed of a pick-up truck, and "if the dog was being carried in a way that endangers it, that would be illegal." And while it appears that the statute of limitations has probably passed, Stacey Wolf, attorney and legislative director for the ASPCA, said "even if it turns out to not be against the law at the time, in the district, we'd hope that people would use common sense...Any manner of transporting a dog that places the animal in serious danger is something that we'd think is inappropriate...I can't speak to the accuracy of the case, but it raises concerns about the judgment used in this particular situation."

Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, was less circumspect. PETA does not have a position on Romney's candidacy per se, but Newkirk called the incident "a lesson in cruelty that was ... wrong for [his children] to witness...Thinking of the wind, the weather, the speed, the vulnerability, the isolation on the roof, it is commonsense that any dog who's under extreme stress might show that stress by losing control of his bowels: that alone should have been sufficient indication that the dog was, basically, being tortured." Romney, of course, has expressed support for the use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques when it comes to terrorists; his campaign refused to comment about the treatment of his dog.

[AquaMan]

Twelve hours? Anyone see parallels to National Lampoon's "Vacation"?

Now that I mention it I can't get the image out of my head of Mitt as Chevy Chase (Sparky).

[Townsend]

Now that I mention it I can't get the image out of my head of Mitt as Chevy Chase.

You think he'd tell his family they'd be whistling "Dixie" out their A-holes?

[AquaMan]

You think he'd tell his family they'd be whistling "Dixie" out their A-holes?

Mormons don't do that.

[Townsend]

Mormons don't do that.

Is that what the moose outside told you?

[AquaMan]

Wiki says that movie was based on a story written in the late fifties by a guy whose family drove to Disneyland. Never tire of watching it. I feel certain someone is going to tag Mitt with it. You heard it here first!

[heironymouspasparagus]

I see that it is illegal to let a dog ride in the open back of a pickup truck in Mass.  Good thing we don't have that kind of unwarranted government intrusion here...

Carriers I have seen are pretty open and would not be suitable for that.  Did they put a tarp or wind break in front of the carrier?  The carriers so many hunters here use are much more enclosed and even though there are open slots, there is still means of protection from the wind.  Mitt blew it big time.

12 hours?  How often did they stop?  And did he feed/water the dog while in transit?  No way he was able to go very long with kids in the car, so there were plenty of stopping opportunities.

[custosnox]

I see that it is illegal to let a dog ride in the open back of a pickup truck in Mass.  Good thing we don't have that kind of unwarranted government intrusion here...

Carriers I have seen are pretty open and would not be suitable for that.  Did they put a tarp or wind break in front of the carrier?  The carriers so many hunters here use are much more enclosed and even though there are open slots, there is still means of protection from the wind.  Mitt blew it big time.

12 hours?  How often did they stop?  And did he feed/water the dog while in transit?  No way he was able to go very long with kids in the car, so there were plenty of stopping opportunities.

My dad made plenty of trips with minimum stops.  You would be surprised how long you can make a kid go without stopping, especially if your drive at night and the kids sleep

[Conan71]

IIRC, the poly style carriers we use now weren't around in the early 1980's.  I believe they were much more like the type hunters use in the back of their trucks, constructed from aluminum.  Not unlike what animal control uses as well.  But RM likes to pull out sophomoric facts on  GOP front-runner as if it's going to make one whit of difference in Oklahoma.

[RecycleMichael]

IIRC, the poly style carriers we use now weren't around in the early 1980's.  I believe they were much more like the type hunters use in the back of their trucks, constructed from aluminum.  Not unlike what animal control uses as well.  But RM likes to pull out sophomoric facts on  GOP front-runner as if it's going to make one whit of difference in Oklahoma.

Sophomoric facts?

At least you admit that what I post are facts. The dog carriers used in the early 1980s were more like suitcases or trunks with air holes in the ends. You couldn't tell what kind of animal was inside.

Animal abuse is not sophomoric and says a lot about his character.  Play it off as some partisan attack if you can't deal with this any other way. Romney abused that dog and what he did is now illegal.

[RecycleMichael]

http://www.dogsagainstromney.com/

[RecycleMichael]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/lots-humans-against-romney-dogs-against-romney-rally-204043816.html

NEW YORK--Kitty Hendrix doesn't even own a dog. But the New York City-based actress led a rally Tuesday to call attention to what she described as one of the "most inhumane" and "horrifying" instances of animal treatment she said she'd ever heard of: The increasingly legendary tale of how Mitt Romney once drove from Boston to Canada with the family dog in a carrier strapped on top of the car.

The incident, mentioned in a 2007 Boston Globe profile of the Republican presidential candidate, occurred in 1983, when Romney, his wife, and his five sons took off on a jaunt to Ontario. Romney installed Seamus, the family's Irish Setter, in a dog crate equipped with a makeshift windshield that Romney designed, on top of the family station wagon. At some point during the trip, Seamus soiled himself—as the Romney sons discovered when they saw a brown liquid dripping down the car windows. Their father quickly pulled over, hosed the dog and the car down, and jumped right back on the road, speeding toward Canada.

The story, which made the rounds during the 2008 campaign--and is mentioned seemingly in every Gail Collins column in the New York Times about Romney--has gained new life in recent months. A group called "Dogs Against Romney" has trailed the candidate in protest around the country—parking a car outside campaign events with a stuffed dog strapped on top.

The group was set to make its biggest news splash yet on Tuesday—holding a rally outside the Westminster Kennel Dog Club Show at Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan—this time with real dogs. The event attracted at least 15 reporters, 10 photographers and five camera crews—but as the clock inched past the noon start time, there was one major thing missing: actual dogs.

"They'll be here, they'll be here," Hendrix--who says she fondly recalls the time she used to own a dog--insisted, surveying the scene a bit nervously. "I mean, it's New York. It's tough to get dogs around the city sometimes." As six people waved anti-Romney signs that read "Mitt is Mean!" and "Dogs Aren't Luggage," bored-looking photographers stood idly by.

"No dogs is not good," CNN's Jeanne Moos declared. Alan Charney, a protester, sauntered by, reassuring the media that dogs would be on the scene. "I'll tell you what, if they don't, I'll get on all fours!" he said. "At least I have a backup story," Moos replied. Hendrix killed time, recanting the story of Seamus to reporters. "He disappeared after that, you know," she said, conspiratorially. "The boys told someone he ran away when they got to Canada." Asked how she knew—since the Romney campaign hasn't publicly addressed Seamus's fate—Hendrix replied, "I read it online."

She told reporters the story was "repulsive." "What was he thinking? He couldn't let the dog ride in the back seat?" Hendrix declared. "I just think it's horrible. There were other options. He wouldn't have put one of his kids up there." The tale, she said, should convince voters that Romney is not presidential material and pointed to President Obama's relationship with the first dog, Bo. "When his family had already gone on vacation, he took his dog Christmas shopping," she said. "That's how you treat a pet."

A few feet away, a man and a woman approached, pushing a dog crate—prompting Charney and his fellow activists to get excited. "Are you here with us?" Charney asked. The man shook his head, and continued toward the Garden entrance where the show dogs and their owners have been gathering for the final day of judging before tonight's Westminster finals. A few minutes later, a young man walked up to join the protestors. As he turned, he revealed a plump pug stuffed into the pocket of his backpack.

"A dog is here," Hendrix exhaled in a breathy voice. "THANK god." As photographers and reporters surrounded the lonely pug, identified by her owner as "Saki," Charney cracked, "One dog represents millions!"

Eventually two more dogs appeared on the scene, including an English bull terrier named "Petey"—named after the dog from "Little Rascals," his owner helpfully noted. Moos leaned down and stuck a CNN microphone near Petey's snout. "What do you think?" she asked. The dog yawned and turned its rear end toward the camera.

[Conan71]

I'm sorry, who is Kitty Hendrix other than a publicity whore?

[RecycleMichael]

I am sure you are correct.

Ask yourself these two questions...was it wrong for Romney to crate his dog on top of his car? Remember that the dog was so scared that he pooped so much that it was running down the windows of the car. Mitt stopped the car, cleaned the crate a washed and ran through a car wash, then put the dog back into the crate. And the second question...would you vote for a guy who is cruel to animals?

[Red Arrow]

Ask yourself these two questions...was it wrong for Romney to crate his dog on top of his car?

It is also wrong to put your dog loose in the bed of a pickup truck.  It is also wrong to let your dog stick its head out the window of a moving vehicle due to potential eye and ear injury.

[/quote]Remember that the dog was so scared that he pooped so much that it was running down the windows of the car.[/quote]

We don't really know why the dog pooped so much.  Maybe is was time to go or the dog had the runs.