# Romney a dog abuser? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 15, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720 "2011-10-15T05:56:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/61 "2011-10-16T01:18:07Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > If you wouldn’t do it with one of your kids, you shouldn’t do it to a dog. You wouldn’t do it to a kid. Would you? So your dog rides in a doggie seat until he is 2, when he gets a booster seat, and then after that he’s buckled up? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/62 "2011-10-16T01:37:38Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > It reflects poorly on his character and judgment. Yes. Which has fuck all to do with his skill (or lack thereof) at presidenting. > [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > No it is not. If Romney cruelly tortured his dog […] You ever been tied to the roof of a car going 90+ ? OK, neither have I. I would imagine, however, that it’s pants wettingly terrorizing. More to the point, I don’t think that’s what a random sample of the population would do, or would even come up with. I’ve travelled with dogs, even with big dogs. You either give the dog a seat, or if there’s no room you take it on your lap. That’s what you do. Dog’s part of the family. That’s what normal people do. Only a weird, “dog’s just another bit of furniture” kind of person would get the idea to just put it on the roof and hit the gas. Now, whether this has thing one to do with his political bonafides, I have no idea and don’t give much of a shit either way. But conversely, you don’t handwave that shit just because the guy is on your political side if you have any ounce of principle. And you certainly don’t handwave it away with a fucking _tu quoque_. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/63 "2011-10-16T01:51:05Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Has no bearing on whether he’s a good President or not anymore than Clinton’s adultery (which is certainly morally worse). Just an excuse to smear Republicans. It betrays a profound lack of humanity and common sense that I wouldn’t want in a president. Hell, I wouldn’t even let him be a school principal. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/64 "2011-10-16T01:52:05Z")
Good judgment has fuck all to do with being president? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/65 "2011-10-16T01:59:48Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > More to the point, I don’t think that’s what a random sample of the population would do, or would even come up with. I’ve travelled with dogs, even with big dogs. You either give the dog a seat, or if there’s no room you take it on your lap. That’s what you do. Dog’s part of the family. That’s what normal people do. Only a weird, “dog’s just another bit of furniture” kind of person would get the idea to just put it on the roof and hit the gas. He didn’t just “put it on the roof”. And there were 7 people in the car, with luggage. It wasn’t a toy poodle that you could just put it “on your lap”. Certainly not optimal, but seems like a reasonable plan given the circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/66 "2011-10-16T02:02:56Z")
A reasonable plan if the suffering of animals means nothing to you. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/67 "2011-10-16T02:03:11Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Romney’s dog . . . apparently had to endure a high pressure car wash while still trapped in the box. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/68 "2011-10-16T02:05:12Z")
Call me crazy, but wouldn’t putting the luggage on the roof seem a more sensible plan? ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/69 "2011-10-16T02:12:44Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > It betrays a profound lack of humanity and common sense that I wouldn’t want in a president. Hell, I wouldn’t even let him be a school principal. Aw come on, the original plan was to tie his leash to the car and have the dog run alongside it, for three hundred miles. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/70 "2011-10-16T02:13:33Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > He didn’t just “put it on the roof”. > > And there were 7 people in the car, with luggage. It wasn’t a toy poodle that you could just put it “on your lap”. > > Certainly not optimal, but seems like a reasonable plan given the circumstances. Quite reasonable. After all, the luggage must be protected from the hardship of travelling on the roof. As I said, I did travel with big dogs. All 80 pounds of a St Bernard’s hindquarters on your legs for 12 hours isn’t pleasant, for sure. But it’s what you do if you care for Beethoven at all. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/71 "2011-10-16T02:19:55Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > Good judgment has fuck all to do with being president? Judgment towards animals ? Yeah, I’d say fuck all. Humans, rightly or wrongly, are quite apt at establishing such boundaries. And of course, Hitler loved Blondie, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/72 "2011-10-16T02:21:32Z")
Godwinized in 71. Shit, I had my money on 87. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/73 "2011-10-16T02:26:56Z")
I can’t believe I share a party affiliation with people who would D.Q. a horrible candidate for unkindness to a pet, or a worse candidate for showing a scintilla of understanding for illegal immigrants’ children, but handwave away their genuine horrors as candidates. These are putrid, vile utterly disgusting suits-and-haircuts pretending to have a clue to national and economic policies here, and that doesn’t seem to disturb the party a bit. Oh, wait. I don’t share a party affiliation with them. But now I can’t believe I share a species with them. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/74 "2011-10-16T02:27:41Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Yeah, because snorting cocaine and abusing your pets was the big fad during the hedonistic 70s. How else do you explain Qin Shi Huangdi’s conception? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/75 "2011-10-16T02:31:25Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > How else do you explain Qin Shi Huangdi’s conception? Wasn’t he the child of a nun that was gang raped by the violent mental ward full of killers for a few days? Or shit, was that Freddy Krueger? I get them mixed up. I just have to remember, Krueger was the one with a moral compass. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/76 "2011-10-16T02:32:00Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > Godwinized in 71. Shit, I had my money on 87. I’m just demonstrating that the way one acts towards animals isn’t indicative of how one acts towards humans and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/77 "2011-10-16T02:39:53Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I’m just demonstrating that the way one acts towards animals isn’t indicative of how one acts towards humans and vice versa. It’s generally well known in psychology that cruelty to animals is a sign of sociopathic tendencies. Of course, so is being Republican, so… ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/78 "2011-10-16T02:47:05Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Cite? Cite that the dog and car were given a gentle wash with a garden hose on loan from a friendly stranger? Are you certain we cant assume Romney hosed off dog and car at a carwash? ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/79 "2011-10-16T02:48:24Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > You ever been tied to the roof of a car going 90+ ? > OK, neither have I. I would imagine, however, that it’s pants wettingly terrorizing. Ever seen a rancher with dogs in the back? They don’t look terrified to me. But I’m terrified for them, because they just might jump out. Not so a dog in a carrier. We’re also talking about an Irish Setter–not exactly renown as the Einsteins of the canine world (although compared to Dalmatians, they definitely could be.). I believe the only fear a Setter has is not being fed. > [@Kobal2](#): > > More to the point, I don’t think that’s what a random sample of the population would do, or would even come up with. I’ve travelled with dogs, even with big dogs. You either give the dog a seat, or if there’s no room you take it on your lap. That’s what you do. Dog’s part of the family. That’s what normal people do. Only a weird, “dog’s just another bit of furniture” kind of person would get the idea to just put it on the roof and hit the gas. Yeah, let’s place 100 pound warm, humid sack on your lap for 12 hours–Puleeze! > [@chorpler](#): > > Whether it was abusive really hinges on how it made the dog feel. I can’t imagine any of my pets NOT being terrified at being contained in a crate that was tied to the roof of a car and driven 300 miles, but maybe Romney’s dog was particularly brave. I wouldn’t chance it, myself, and yeah, it makes me think less of Romney as a human being **if that dog was scared**. But I don’t know if he was scared for sure. A closer reading of Politifact presents evidence that suggests that Seamus, the lovable Irish Setter, did enjoy the upper tier while traveling (Mitt built a special wind shield for the carrier). It also suggest that the dog suffered from diarrhea–so I’ll cut Mitt some slack here. I see no reason why this would disqualify him from the presidency–the story is 25+ years old…and for crying out loud, this isn’t Glenn Beck who, rumor has it, was alleged to have raped and killed a girl in 1990. Or was it Mike Godwin? I can’t keep up. I came here for the mockery. I’m staying for the flaming. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720/80 "2011-10-16T02:53:16Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > Politifact presents evidence that suggests that Seamus, the lovable Irish Setter, did enjoy the upper tier while traveling Ha. That evidence is Mitt Romney said so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-a-dog-abuser/599720.md?page=5)