Why Are Dogs Against Romney?

I'm not going to tell you who to vote for.

But it's recently returned to the news cycle that back in 1983, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took a family vacation from Boston to his family's Ontario cottage with the family's Irish Setter, Seamus, in a carrier strapped to the roof of his car.

According to the Boston Globe in 2007, Romney's teenage son Tagg was the one who exclaimed, “Dad — gross!” as his dog's diahhrea dripped down the back window.

The Globe reported that Romney, then 36, in an example of “emotion-free crisis management,” then pulled over, borrowed a hose to clean off his car and his dog, returned Seamus to the roof and drove the remainder of their 12-hour trip.

I know how I'd feel strapped to the roof for 12 hours on the highway.

I imagine I'd lose control of my bowels, too.

I mean, I'm not telling you who to vote for. I'm just saying.

“Dogs Against Romney,” on the other hand, definitely wants you to think about Seamus when you go into the ballot box this November.

Calling itself a “super pack” founded by Rusty the dog back when the story first broke, this group even took up quarters outside the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York last Tuesday to try to raise the hair on your back.

The group has more than 33,170 likes on Facebook and more than 2,600 followers on Twitter (handle: Grrr_Romney).

If this story is true, the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is saying “Crate Gate” could still be investigated.

Animal cruelty laws in Massachusetts prohibit transporting 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 carrier thereon.”

When asked, the former Massachusetts governor has chosen not to respond much; Seamus enjoyed being on the roof, he said. The carrier was “air-tight” and included a special protective windshield, he added. And “he scambled up there every time he went on trips.”

It's difficult to say whether reporters have questioned Romney's wife, Ann, who was riding safely inside with their five sons.

The Romney family has said Seamus got off the roof and lived the rest of his life on Romney's sister's farm.

However, two of Romney's sons may have told reporters off the record that Seamus actually “ran away when they reached their destination” in Canada.

Now I'm not telling you who to vote for. You know I wouldn't want to make Pet Pause political.

I'm just saying.

I think this story is something worth saying.