Meet Seamus Romney, the dog Mitt Romney forced to ride on top of the family car

[wicket]

LINK

Seamus, Mitt Romney's now departed Irish setter, has attracted worldwide attention in the two weeks since the Globe recounted a roof-top ride he made from Boston to Canada back in 1983.

The controversy has drawn howls from animal-rights advocates and captured the imagination of overseas editorial writers. (The Times of London headlined its coverage, "Toppled by a dog?") It's also given Seamus a starring role in everything from YouTube videos to gag T-shirts. But, until now, any photo purporting to be of Seamus was instead a stock image of an Irish setter.

Mitt Romney's sister Jane provided this photo as evidence that Seamus was no ordinary dog. She says he was such a social dog that he often left Mitt Romney's Belmont home to visit his "dog friends" around town. "He kept ending up at the pound," she says. "They were worried about him getting hit crossing the street." So a few years after Seamus's ride to Canada, Mitt sent Seamus to live for a time with Jane and her family in California. "We had more space, so he could roam more freely," she says.

Seamus came to her home as a dog who hated cats. But over time, he changed his ways. By the time one of her cats had a litter, Seamus let the kittens crawl all over him, and he became protective of them, she says. "This dog was Mr. Personality."

Jane says she never knew he made the trip to Canada in a rooftop dog carrier -- a journey punctuated by a bout of diarrhea -- until the Globe's seven-part series on her brother. But she maintains that if Seamus didn't like the arrangement, he wouldn't have accepted it. "He was a Houdini," she says. "He could get out of any space you put him in."

[Maat]

1. What a precious dog ...

the thought of him being abused just makes me ill.

[wicket]

14. Me too

:(

[malaise]

2. I had a beautiful Irish setter

How could anyone be so cruel?

[Gman]

3. This may be an attempt at damage control

but it only makes it worse by letting everyone know what kind of a dog he was. Kinda drives home even harder how unfeeling Romney really is if he would stick "Mr. Personality" on top of the roof of his car.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. My family have had setters of various types. They are extremely senstive

and more like toddlers than dogs. We called them pupples for that reason.

That trip would have messed that poor baby up but good. Houdini or not, a moving car and being sick are two reasons why he would not have tried to escape.

[mod mom]

5. Oh yeah-Seamus could have gotten out if he didn't like the circumstances-right!

[TwilightGardener]

6. Awwww-what a sweetie! Romney should be locked in a dog kennel until he shits himself,

and then squirted with ice-cold hose water, and then put inside a wind tunnel.

[shenmue]

7. People who hurt dogs...

have something seriously wrong with them.

:grr:

[Raven]

8. OK, enough of this shit! I know where Mitt Romney lives...

my parents lived a stones' throw away. I passed his "estate" several times a week. Marsh Street is a very busy street and these people had no business letting that dog roam. It sounds really cute to talk about a dog visiting his doggy friends but it can be deadly. Romney has a lot of land...no reason he could not have provided a nice fenced area for this dog. These people are just reckless and I remember something my father used to say...that you could tell a lot about the decency of a person by the way they treated their pets.

[eleny]

9. What a sweetie pie!

One big dog + two kittens = CUTE OVERLOAD!!!

[Flarney]

10. Has the Romney campaign acknowledged this story at all?

I know a Mitt fan who needs my "help."

[xchrom]

11. romney ABUSED his dog. knowingly.

it was the eighties for fucks sake -- how willfully ignorant can one man be? -- well -- strapping your dog to the top of the car in a carrier just about defines it.

[wicket]

13. Yup and the poor thing sprayed diarrhea all over the top of the car to indicate distress

The heartless bastard Willard just sprayed down the car & the dog & went back on his way. Asshole! :grr:

[Virginia Dare]

12. Make Mitt take a ride to Canada on the roof of a car..

and then leave him there..what a scumbag.

[wicket]

15. kick

:kick:

[wicket]

16. .

:kick:

[Skip Intro]

17. "He could get out of any space you put him in." - ?

Wonder how she came to that conclusion...

I'd like to see someone put mitt in a box and strap him to the top of a car and run him for miles at high speed. I cannot stand someone who'd abuse an animal. Especially someone who presents himself as a moral leader. effin hypocrites...

[madokie]

18. someone slap him for me

[AlCzervik]

19. i'm really glad Seamus got the good home he deserved---finally.

[Marnieworld]

20. Rage and nausea

This bothered me before but now knowing Seamus more I feel violent. I'm glad that his story is being told now for all of the other dogs. The more that this or Michael Vick's vicious cruelty is in the news the more people are talkking about care for animals and what is cruelty.

Mitt Romney should be haunted by Seamus' picture at each campaign stop. He sounds like a really special dog just filled with love and this is how they treated him? Like luggage? It was child abuse as well. Don't get me started. Thanks for posting this.

[wicket]

21. Amen Marnie

I'm glad that his story is being told now for all of the other dogs.

Absolutely. This story is really disturbing and needs to be told.

Mitt Romney should be haunted by Seamus' picture at each campaign stop. He sounds like a really special dog just filled with love and this is how they treated him? Like luggage? It was child abuse as well. Don't get me started.

Now THAT would be awesome. Let him remember what he did.

Thanks for posting this.

Thank-YOU :hug:

[wicket]

22. kick for Seamus

:kick: