That’s pronounced ‘SHAME-us’ isn’t it?
By Gina Spadafori
June 29, 2007
While I can certainly see an argument that the Romney incident shouldn’t be the sole deciding factor in whether or not you vote for the man, I am simply having a difficult time getting my head around the idea that anyone — well, aside from Mitt Romney — would think strapping a dog in a crate to the roof of the car for a 12-hour ride is defendable in any way. And the fact that it happened in 1983 doesn’t change a thing. I’ll guarantee you almost every dog-owner in the country knew better, even then.
But hey, maybe it’s just us crazy “pet people” again. After all, Romney defended himself yesterday by saying that the dog enjoyed being terrified and soaking wet on the roof of a station wagon. What do we know?
After all, we’re just the crazy ones who took issue when our pets started dying in the thousands from contaminated pet food. The ones who pressured the FDA to get off the dime in a way that’s likely saving human lives now. The ones who are seemingly the only people not surprised that more and more Chinese products are turning out to be a problem … lead-painted toys, toothpaste with antifreeze and now toxic fish.
Yes, but who exactly is crazier here? The people who don’t think it’s acceptable for a dog to be treated like a piece of luggage, or the candidate who not only did this but thinks the story is funny, how the dog shot diarrhea down the back of the car so he hosed off the dog and the car and got back on the road?
Seamus, you poor dog. I’d hook up with someone else at the Rainbow Bridge and move on. Don’t wait for Mitt Romney.
“While I can certainly see an argument that the Romney incident shouldn’t be the sole deciding factor in whether or not you vote for the man, . . .”
Thing is, I think this instance does kinda hold up for that.
It’s not like he did some dumb college prank, he was a grown man with a family.
He had much better options, but went this route, even took the time to build a wind screen with out seeing the obvious!
Didn’t seem to be bothered (by his own admission) that his dog was freaked out
Did it repeatedly (according to him!)
and STILL thinks it’s absolutely fine (again, according to him!) years later.
That says quite a bit about a potential President in my book. From poor decision making skills right down to out-of-touch-with-reality today. Seems we’ve already been there, doing that . . .
I’d like more (MUCH MORE!!) from the next Pres, TYVM! ;)
Comment by straybaby — June 29, 2007 @ 11:50 am
The way people treat their animals says a lot about the kind of people they are. This episode also says volumes about his common sense and decency. One would think he would have learned SOMETHING from this incident - evidently not. Hope he is not representative of the Presidential candidate pool. Is this the best we can offer to run our country? Lord help us.
Comment by Carol — June 29, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
Such a heart-breaking story. Seamus, we love you…Lord, please give him a strong hug from us.
Comment by Bee — June 29, 2007 @ 12:46 pm
It was Mitts Global Venture Firm Bain Capital that bought Nutro in 2006 then dumped it to put on the sale block just after the recall this year.
Goes to show you how the Mitt Mentality really operates.
Comment by Steve — June 29, 2007 @ 12:50 pm
The fact that Mitt Romney said *yesterday* that he’s fine and dandy with what he did to his dog speaks VOLUMES of his CURRENT CHARACTER and conscience, or lack thereof.
Comment by Sandy — June 29, 2007 @ 1:16 pm
What gets me is the guy made a habit of riding his dog on the top of his wagon - good grief! I was listening to a local talk show while driving to the store this morning and 50% of woman voters don’t like this guy - the host couldn’t figure out why? Said it was probably his religion.
I wanted to call in but was driving. The man rides his dog on top of his car and thinks it’s funny - shows extremely poor judgment and he’s not even apologizing now - he needs to light candles and say prayers and repent his wayward and harmful ways and ask his dog to forgive me - but no Romney thinks it’s funny! Ugh!
Comment by Linda — June 29, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
Comment by Linda — June 29, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
Not meaning to say anything about men here, but women seem to have an intuition and the fact that 50% of women, according to that talk show, wont vote for him speaks volumes to me. Could it be his smooth , polished appearance, I know that scares me off. I dont think he is genuine. And with his name attached to Bain Capital, thats enough to send me running the opposite direction. Shame on you Mitt Romney, I hope what you did to your dog comes back to bite you at some point in your life. Sometimes Im ashamed to be part of the human race with people like that in it.
Comment by Sandi K — June 29, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
Sandi
I couldn’t have said it better. Thanks.
Katie
Comment by Katie — June 29, 2007 @ 2:12 pm
Not sure if anyone’s mentioned this yet, but - here’s the first line of that article:
“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.”
Why oh why would he put the suitcases IN the car and the dog ON TOP, instead of the other way around???
Comment by Debra — June 29, 2007 @ 2:12 pm
Why oh why would he put the suitcases IN the car and the dog ON TOP, instead of the other way around???
Comment by Debra — June 29, 2007
It’s an expression of which he valued more?
Comment by Lis — June 29, 2007 @ 2:16 pm
The thing that gets me is, he actually think this makes him more presidential, more of a take-charge “decider”. Someone told that story to the reporter, and you can bet they had campaign approval to mention it. Why else would Romney et al have given that if they didn’t think this reflected positively?
So, it’s bad enough that he did that 25 years ago; ten times worse that he now thinks it showed presidential leadership.
Comment by KathyF — June 29, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Why oh why would he put the suitcases IN the car and the dog ON TOP, instead of the other way around???
Good point, Debra.
Comment by Janet — June 29, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
Talking about presidents, I hear the decider, George Bush, went fishing today. I am thankful that he was not scared about the potential terrorist attacks in London that were averted, because I he needs his vacation time so he can think.
Lou Dobbs had a piece with Kitty Pilgrim about the food poisoning and China, today. Lou Dobbs did imply that George Bush is ignoring it and that he could do something about it. I forget the exact statement.
I hope the fish George Bush catches does not have the poison ingredients we are all informed about. We need our president to guide us, otherwise Mitt Romney might be the Decider next.
Mitt Romney’s wife is suffering from a neurological disease. So I want to be kind to Mitt Romney, but I can’t. He showed no kindness to an animal that trusted him and was ready and willing to give love to him.
Comment by Evelyn — June 29, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
Additional comment:
In the picture above, why does Mitt have such a tight grip on his wife? To show his male dominance? I guess he decides when wifey can move freely or when he arm-chains her to his body.
Comment by Evelyn — June 29, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
I was thinking if we want all the work we’ve been doing on this poison pet food issue to get set backwards, and a President who is not going to take this pet food recall seriously and help to stop this from happening again, Mitt does not appear to be the man for the job considering his views on travel for his pet. In all honesty, I dont feel he would be the person to represent my kitty who died as a result of the toxic food.
Comment by Sandi K — June 29, 2007 @ 4:38 pm
I think the next president could make the FDA stronger and more accountable to the consumers.
Trouble is, I don’t know which candidate would do that. However, Mitt Romney, as I see it, is only interested in making money for investors in the stock market while cutting benefits for middleclass Americans, and throwing little tidbits to the poor so as to avoid a revolt. The PFI would get stronger while advertising great pet food in beautiful packages with great sounding names for delicious food but containing “phew-stuff” inside.
My cats had such fowl-smelling poops from the recalled stuff. Now the poops are almost like perfume in comparision because the food I select agrees with their whole body.
Comment by Evelyn — June 29, 2007 @ 5:07 pm
“Mitt Romney’s wife is suffering from a neurological disease.”
I feel sorry for his wife and his children and his dog(s) - do they have any pets today?
His wife must be an angel….to put up with……
Comment by Linda — June 29, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
“Dim witt” Mitt won’t even make it to the primary. The Republican party has enough to be embarassed about without him. And it’s not just 50% of the women who don’t like him, the men are catching on pretty fast too!
How could anyone in their right mind set such an horrible example for their kids? And why didn’t his wife intervene? Or has her mind been warped by living with him?
But poor Seamus, the Irish Setter, is the real victim. Being just a dog, he can’t hire a lawyer and sue his “owner.”
Comment by PM Hill — June 29, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
What kind of a name is Seamus for a dog? Seems like a very unusual name doesn’t it? It sounds very similar to something else but yet isn’t quite that…..umm…. even the poor dog’s name is disturbing….wonder who named the dog?
Comment by Linda — June 29, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
Irish Setters are beautiful and dignified dogs - deserving respect and love…..I’m going to do a ceremony tonight for Seamus and give him a new name…….and ask that he forgive his stupid owners for making him ride in a crate on the roof of their wagon……
Maybe Seamus has found love and peace in the hereafter because it sure sounds as if his earthly journey was wrought with fear and desperation. Poor dog.
Comment by Linda — June 29, 2007 @ 5:58 pm
Just catching up here. My two cents is that ole Mitt should have stuck his kids on the roof instead of the dog but then I love dogs and hate kids. Seriously, his father ran for governor of Michigan and he was a walking joke. Like father, like son.
Comment by VJ — June 29, 2007 @ 6:30 pm
Someone should strap Romney to the roof of a SUV and drive for 12 hours and when he shitts his pants then spray him with a hose while he is still strapped to the roof and take off and then maybe he’ll learn to like it and can campaign across America and smile and wave - “See, this ain’t so bad….”
Comment by Linda — June 29, 2007 @ 6:53 pm
Not all the people in Massachusetts were crazy about him either, as I have heard from my friends who live there.
Comment by Evelyn — June 29, 2007 @ 7:18 pm
Evelyn, if you want accountability, you need to look to someone like Bloomberg. Sadly, he’s not running, nor is anyone else who holds accountability as a high value (that I’ve seen). While I don’t agree with everything he does, initially, he works it out one way or another and seems to keep how things effect us in mind. And he puts qualified people in place and expects them to do a good job. Period. Oh, and he’s very transparent with us. ‘sigh’ what a concept, eh?!
Comment by straybaby — June 29, 2007 @ 7:34 pm
Comment by Linda — June 29, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
I think the dog’s real name is Karma, but Mitt doesn’t quite realize it yet ;)
Comment by straybaby — June 29, 2007 @ 7:35 pm
There are people who treat pets as companions and there are people who treat pets as commmodities. My experience has been that people who treat pets as commodities usually treat people as commodities. We don’t need another “people are commodities” president.
Comment by MFEMFEM — June 29, 2007 @ 7:46 pm
What kind of a name is Seamus for a dog?
Comment by Linda — June 29, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
I just looked it up, and Seamus is a variation of James. It means “he who supplants.” Supplant means “to supercede, especially by force or treachery.” My guess is the dog known as Seamus was preceded by some other dog.
Oh, and the word supplant comes from the Latin supplantare - “to trip up, cause to stumble.” It seems Seamus the dog might cause Romney to stumble in his quest for the White House, so the name really is fitting, don’t you think?
Comment by Debra — June 29, 2007 @ 8:35 pm
Seamus is an Irish name - which would seem appropriate for an Irish setter.
As has been pointed out here, he’s a loser for so many reasons, this is just the icing on the cake.
Comment by Andrea 2CatMom — June 29, 2007 @ 8:36 pm
Not all the people in Massachusetts were crazy about him either, as I have heard from my friends who live there.
Comment by Evelyn — June 29, 2007 @ 7:18 pm
Actually, he’s quite seriously unpopular. He ran for Gov as a moderate Republican—and we like electing moderate Republicans for Gov because there aren’t enough Republicans running for any other offices (seriously, for state-wide office this past election, we had more Green-Rainbow candidates than GOP candidates), and we wind up having one-party government. Having a GOP governor gives some balance. But having gotten elected, he proceeded to take a hard-right turn—to set himself up to run for president. And he started traveling around the country using MA as the butt of his jokes.
He didn’t run for re-election because he couldn’t win. Even his Lt. Gov., Healy, got pounded when she ran, in part because she was too closely tied to him.
But, I have to say, that “Seamus” seems like a perfectly normal sort of name for an Irish Setter. It’s the combination of calling the dog Seamus and the kid Tagg that I think is a bit freaky and weird.
Comment by Lis — June 30, 2007 @ 3:09 am
I wonder if Jed Bush is good to animals. Next year it is possible he might run for president.
Some folks may think two “Bushes” are not enough and we need a third “BUSH”.
Comment by Evelyn — June 30, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Oh great. The Imperial Presidency.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — June 30, 2007 @ 9:02 am
Off the political topic but an interesting read:
“A Year Without ‘Made in China’”
“U.S. family tries living without China”
“Lower prices have been one benefit of Beijing’s rise and make it very hard for consumers to forswear Chinese imports.
LEGOS, LAMPS
And hard it was.
For all of 2005, minor purchases required dogged detective work as Bongiorni scoured catalogues and read labels.
Whole article:
http://www.canada.com/national.....mp;k=56694
Comment by Aunt Granny — June 30, 2007 @ 9:36 am
Karma is a great name for Romney’s Irish Setter - so Karma it shall be!
Comment by Linda — June 30, 2007 @ 10:44 am
Another article that talks about the pet food poisoning, human food connection/concerns.
It would seem that all the questions asked about the origin of ingredients in their products has reached Kellogg’s!
“Companies in U.S. Increase Testing of Chinese Goods”
“General Mills, Kellogg, Toys “R” Us and other big American companies are increasing their scrutiny of thousands of everyday products they receive from Chinese suppliers, as widening recalls of items like toys and toothpaste force them to focus on potential hazards that were overlooked in the past.
“We’re thinking in new ways about this,” said Tom Forsythe, a spokesman for General Mills. “We’re looking for things we didn’t look for in the past.”
A Kellogg spokeswoman, Kris Charles, confirmed that retailers had asked whether the company used ingredients from China that were banned by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States, including wheat gluten and soy protein.
The company had not, Ms. Charles said, but Kellogg took the extra step of scrutinizing the ingredients that it does import from China, like vitamins, honey, cinnamon, water chestnuts and freeze-dried strawberries. It also screened its Chinese suppliers for links to the recent pet food recall.
The discovery over the last few months of tainted or defective products from China — including toothpaste, tires, toys and fish — has prompted United States lawmakers to fault companies for compromising quality in their quest for inexpensive imports and higher profits.
If companies do not improve their safeguards and more tainted goods are found to be entering the United States, the safety of imports could take on a bigger political dimension, the lawmakers said.
“Food companies have been among the most resistant to informing the public about their ingredients,” said Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, who has been a leading Congressional critic of China. “Now that’s more worrisome because these ingredients are coming from an unregulated environment.””
Entire Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07.....ref=slogin
Comment by Aunt Granny — June 30, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
“My cats had such fowl-smelling poops from the recalled stuff. Now the poops are almost like perfume in comparision because the food I select agrees with their whole body.”
Comment by Evelyn — June 29, 2007 @ 5:07 pm
Evelyn, I noticed the same thing and it’s one of the biggest differences I now see since we’ve been off all the recalled foods and on a raw diet.
Comment by Nabiya — June 30, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
Just ran across Ann Romney’s response regarding all the stories/blog comments/etc. about Seamus’ ride:
http://tinyurl.com/yovm4o
“Our First Dog - Seamus
“Mitt and I love our dogs. Seamus was our first—an Irish setter. When I wasn’t at home, Mitt let him sleep on the bed. And usually when he was riding in the car, his head was out the window. Seamus lived to a ripe old age, basking in the affection of a large family.
“Surprise, surprise, the media didn’t get the dog story right. Our dog Seamus rode in an ENCLOSED kennel, not in the open air. And he loved it. Every time he saw it, he jumped up on the tailgate, walked in, and lay down. It was just like the kennel he curled up in at home.
“We are a dog family. Casey was our Bichon, McKenzie our Golden, and Marley our Weimaraner. Marley had 8 puppies, which Mitt delivered all night for her one summer.
“When she died last year, she was in Mitt and our arms, and we all cried. Yes, we love our dogs.
“Now horses, that’s my love too. Mitt rides them—I love them. But that’s another blog.”
===
For me, the fact that the kennel was enclosed doesn’t matter - it still shouldn’t have been on the roof for a 12 hour highway trip. And the fact that he climbed in when he saw it doesn’t tell me that he loved riding on the roof, just that he was well trained to do what he was expected to do.
Comment by Debra — June 30, 2007 @ 6:46 pm
He loved it so much that Seamus (now Karma) shittt all over himself and it ran down the windows - and after awhile he adjusted to his maltreatment and stopped shitttting - poor dog.
Comment by Linda — June 30, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
well, I asked this question:
“If he loved it so much, why was there brown liquid running down the back window?”
wonder if they’ll post and/or answer it . . .
Comment by straybaby — June 30, 2007 @ 8:10 pm
mrs. romney has totally missed the point; that point being that the roof of a car is not an appropriate place to put a dog. and the story about the kennel being enclosed doesn’t pass muster either. why would an enclosed kennel need a windscreen? and why would an enclosed kennel be leaking feces all over the car’s rear window?
look, i fully expect romney’s family to defend him, but let’s at least be plausible, shall we?
Comment by explodinghed — July 1, 2007 @ 3:49 am
“Every time he saw it, he jumped up on the tailgate, walked in, and lay down.”
Big deal. I know dogs that love riding in the backs of pickups too. They also “jump right up” when they see their owners looking like they’re going somewhere. But that STILL doesn’t make it safe:
http://dog-care.suite101.com/a.....ickup_beds
And the fact remains - THIS dog (Seamus) was upset enough about the experience to get a diarrhea attack over it. For which he was rewarded with cold water from a hose and being “blown dry” at highway speeds afterwards.
Those people are clueless. Just totally, totally clueless.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — July 1, 2007 @ 5:57 am
I wondered too why an enclosed kennel needed a windshield - and I wonder why type of a kennel it was - wanna bet it too was not up to snuff!
Poor Karma!
Comment by Linda — July 1, 2007 @ 6:36 am
well, it looks like they’ve decided not to post/answer my question. such a shame(-us)!
Comment by straybaby — July 1, 2007 @ 9:25 am
well, it looks like they’ve decided not to post/answer my question. such a shame(-us)!
Comment by straybaby — July 1, 2007
Who “they”? Us? Romney campaign? I didn’t see a post from you in spam filter.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — July 1, 2007 @ 9:27 am
I’d like to see a photo of this infamous “crate/cage/doghouse” that fits so easily on top of the station wagon - this flying crate for poor Seamus (aka Karma) and I bet they are burning the photo right now!
Comment by Linda — July 1, 2007 @ 9:29 am
sorry Gina! Ann Romney’s blog. I was questioning Seamus’s comfort re: the brown liquid running down the back window . . .
Comment by straybaby — July 1, 2007 @ 10:20 am
straybaby, i wouldn’t expect any response from that quarter… other than your post all i saw was a lot of palaver about how the liberal media was out to get them. funny when you consider that the story in actuality came out of their camp. and all this rot about how romney is so saintly that this was the worst thing they could find on him. well, as bad things go, it’s pretty darn bad, but anybody who lives in Massachusetts is capable of giving you a whole litany of reasons why they would never vote for romney again.
Comment by explodinghed — July 1, 2007 @ 2:15 pm
And did you notice all the folks who DEFENDED the practice of letting dogs ride in an open pickup bed - as if that made their argument stronger?
Clueless, clueless, clueless . . . . . . . . . . .
Comment by The OTHER Pat — July 1, 2007 @ 4:10 pm
Things like this give you a clue as to what the real person is like…
I won’t even be giving him a first look…no support, no vote…period.
Comment by Marcy — July 1, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
Comment by explodinghed — July 1, 2007 @ 2:15 pm
yeah, i was mostly just checking their integrity level ;) not too high . . . .
i thought it was interesting how they put it on the media and so did the comments they allowed through. it’s like nobody read the story or saw the source and they did nothing to correct the comments! hello! the media did NOT “dig” for this info . . .
Comment by straybaby — July 2, 2007 @ 6:47 am