Seamus (dog)
From dKosopedia
Seamus was a pet dog owned by Mitt Romney and his family. Seamus, an Irish setter, was a subject of media attention for Mitt Romney in both the 2008 presidential election and the 2012 presidential election because of a 1983 family vacation where Romney transported Seamus on the roof of an automobile for twelve hours. [1][2]
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Incident
In 1983, Romney and his family were preparing for their annual vacation to a family cottage in Beach O'Pines, Ontario. Seamus was enclosed in a carrier on the roof of the Romney family's station wagon. Sometime during the trip, the dog being afflicted with diarrhea causing excrement to flow down the windows of the car. Romney stopped at a gas station to wash Seamus and the car, put Seamus back in his carrier, and continued the twelve-hour trip to Ontario.[3]
Political and legal response
The Massachusetts American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) stated that Romney's actions were probably illegal under Massachusetts law, but that the statute of limitations has passed. Ingrid Newkirk, the president of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has labelled the incident as animal cruelty and torture.[4]
During a 2012 interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, Romney stated that Seamus enjoyed being in the dog carrier, an "air-tight kennel," and that he was not aware of any violations of Massachusetts law.[5] Ann Romney, Mitt Romney's wife, said that the news media had exaggerated the severity of the incident, and compared traveling in the roof-top dog carrier to riding a motorcycle or riding in the bed of a pickup truck.[6] According to Snopes.com, the incident has been "pointed to as an example of Romney's emotion-free crisis management style. Others viewed it differently, regarding the mode of canine transport the dog was subjected to as unnecessarily callous and cruel."[7]
During the 2012 U.S. Republican presidential primaries, candidate Newt Gingrich aired an anti-Romney attack ad that featured the story.[8][9] David Axelrod, the chief political consultant for President Barack Obama, sent a tweet with a picture of Obama's dog, Bo, riding with Obama in the presidential limousine; Axelrod captioned it "How loving owners transport their dogs" to draw the contrast with Romney.[10] In January 2012, extensive media coverage of the incident led to the growth of websites dedicated to Seamus.[11] Mark Halperin, the senior political analyst for Time magazine, Time.com, and MSNBC, opined that "for a lot of voters" the incident was "a serious issue".[12]
Supplementary information
Seamus had the nickname "Mr. Personality" because he was a social dog.[13] Seamus was later given to Mitt Romney's sister, Jane Romney of California, and the dog has since passed away.[14]
External links
- "Romney on Irish Setter strapped to car roof: Love my dog"
- "Newt Gingrich Attack Ad Dogs Mitt Romney Over Putting Pooch On Roof"
- "Mitt Romney and the dog on the car roof: one columnist's obsession"
- "Romney hounded by memory of Seamus the dog and 'Crate Gate'"
This article incorporates material from the Wikipedia article "Seamus (dog)". The list of authors can be found here.
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