I'd like to strap Mitt Romney to the roof of my car for a 12 hour road trip. With a windshield of course so that it's more humane. What an a**.

I am not able to express what I think, if I did would get banned forever, and I like it here too much - so use your imagination there, in any language you choose.

OMG! He's evil...

Funny we take our dogs with us as much as we can because we tend to just get thru it. Taking the dogs we stop at parks or places that look like fun places for the dogs to play. We walk more and we smell the roses, the dogs smell where other dogs have been. A good time is had by all. I also would take the horses as much as possible, they had to ride in the horse trailer because they didn't fit in the truck.LOL

I didn't need another reason to not vote for him, but thanks anyway! I'll pass it along to my entire vet school, just in case anyone had any crazy ideas....

So can I further elaborate on the question?

For everyone who is appalled, is it okay to put your dog in a cage/carrier in the bed of a pick-up truck?

I looked at a number of internet hoax and legend sites to try to find that this is a joke. I cannot find it. Surely it is not true.

SAmmy

Oh my gosh that is terrible. On my post the other day I put this graphic. I hope no one got the wrong idea. I just thought it was cute but it sure was poor timing. I would never really do this & can't believe anyone else would either but I have been shocked many times before at the stupid things people do.

minibim - I wouldn't put my dog in the back of a pickup, even in a crate... but he is not used to a crate nor traveling in open air like that. I think for dogs that are used to riding around in the back of a truck, a strapped down crate would be the way to go. Hate to see dogs running from side to side in the back of a truck, but it's a familiar site.

Answer to the link question: Nope.

A dog used to riding in a crate in a pick up would be just ok for short distances but not 12 hours!

I simply cannot believe a grown man would do that to his dog. Never in a million years would I have voted for him before this, but now...That is just wrong!!

I certainly wouldn't do it, and don't care much for dogs in crates in the back of pickups either- it just looks too much like serious trouble could follow in even a minor accident.

The story did remind me of some blurbs I've read in Reminisce Magazine though- one was of goats in crates strapped to the running boards for travel, and another was of a dog who use to ride on the running boards by his own design. Of course back then cars and traffic didn't move as fast.

It was 1983 when it happened. I think the really poor judgement is in disclosing it as part of a family story and not expressing regret over it. But it's hard to judge whether the dog was any less safe in the crate than in the car. It sounds about as bad as putting a dog in the freight section of an airplane. Both make me cringe.

What Cynthia said. I agree.

Sammy

I don't really see a difference between strapping the carrier on the roof and putting a carrier in a pick-up truck bed. For some reason the idea of being on the roof sounds worse though.

I don't like the idea of transporting dogs in carriers in truck beds, but to me it does show that they care about the dog. People that throw their dog in a truck bed LOOSE, make me want to strangle them(the person).

Never in a million years would I ship an animal as cargo in an airplane, it would make me a total basket case. I guess it's done successfully by lots of people every year and just because I wouldn't do it, doesn't make the other person a bad pet owner.

Dogs shouldn't be in carriers in the back of pickups either. And I don't care if it was 1983 OR 1883, it was wrong and stupid and if he did it today, he'd be arrested. Just imagine 12 hours in a carrier having diarrhea and the wind whipping thru the bars going 60 miles an hour...and then in 2007, not to be embarrassed about it. I had the same car, the same kids minus a couple and a large Afghan hound and no way would my little mind be okay with putting Pasha on top of the car and trucking off to the Cape where we used to go..a 10 hour trip. What a learning experience for the kids.

Uncaring, selfish person. Did not learn anything from the experience. A reasonable person might think, "Oh, that was too long for the dog. I should change my behavior and stop every so often to meet other beings needs." I live in MA, and he had a similar behavior to social services: They are not helping me personally, so I will ignore them.

Please understand, the "Boston Globe" is owned by people who support Romney, so the writers would be, um, "discouraged" from writing anything negative.

Was every seat filled with a person in the car? If not, there's absolutely no excuse for what he did. If yes, they should have left the dog home or not gone on the trip. Since they went to Ontario, how did they cross the border going and coming back without a problem from customs? Did he clean the cage just prior to getting to customs since they might have a problem with a sick animal coming into a country?

Marie, there is no excuse for it period. He should have taken 2 cars.

Believe me, I'm NOT condoning anything he's done. I was just curious to know if the dog could have safely been in the car with the family and they just chose to put the dog on the roof instead of some material items they kept in the car instead of their pet.

From the 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.....

Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter, in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack. He'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog.

Then Romney put his boys on notice: He would be making predetermined stops for gas, and that was it."

Yes, the Boston Globe is Pro-Romney. The reporter's spin was this was an example of "emotion-free crisis management".

Here is a link that might be useful: Journeys of a shared life

Then he should have purchased one of those suitcase holders for the roof and put the suitcases and supplies in there. We did that when we didn't have room in our station wagon years ago. The dog then could have been in the car with the family; it was Romney's choice not to do this.

Would I elect this man for President? Probably not,but my decision would have very little to do with what has been revealed in this article! Granted,this seems totally irresponsible and even bordering on cruelty,in the eyes of most of us here.However,keep in mind that this was an event that took place in 1983 and what we may see in this day of animal abuse,cruelty and neglect laws,was probably not an event that would be considered unusual or even inhumane in that era.Determining from the article,this was the solution for including the dog in the family's life away from home.Evidently they wanted the dog with them or they wouldn't have taken the measures,(although a little strange in our eyes)to include him in their plans. How many of us can honestly say that we have never,ever done something stupid and possibly potentially harmful to a pet or some other animal in our lifetime that we now regret,or that we wouldn't think of doing now? I just don't believe this incident has any bearing on the kind of president he would make.It doesn't necessarily make him a cruel person or reflect on the kind of person he may be.One incident doesn't determine a person's life forever.People change and have regrets about things they may have done earlier in their lives.Years ago let my dogs ride in the back of a pickup.I wouldn't do it now,but does that make me a cruel and abusive person? I'm sure he now regrets that he ever wrote this article! Of course this is all just my own opinion......

I can't imagine doing this. My pets have always been like family members and I would never strap a member of my family to the roof of the car, even for a brief ride. (Although I must admit that I do believe I suggested strapping my little brother to the roof of the car one family vacation when he kept poking me, mom refused of course!) Unfortunately, not everyone feels this way about their pets. I witnessed this firsthand yesterday on my way home from Cleveland to Chicago going down the Toll road (can't remember if I was still in Ohio or in Indiana) on a stretch where the limit is 70 mph for cars. We were in the right lane doing about 75 mph to keep pace with slow traffic and were passed like we were standing still by some idiot in a pick-up. There was a lone man in the cab, and a golden standing in the truck bed. Actually more like cringing, it's head was down and its body hunched. If it had stayed in sight long enough to get the plate number, or even the make I would have reported it to the patrol. I can't believe anyone could treat an animal like that.

I can't imagine doing that to my dogs either. I think most people didn't treat their dogs with the same consideration that they do their children in 1983. I know that my parents didn't. And my parents are good people. We all know better today.

I'm sure he now regrets that he ever wrote this article!

Actually, when he was recently questioned about the story, he said it was no big deal. He clearly thinks it was just fine. To me THAT says volumes about his character.

Too true.

I'm from Massachusetts. I won't drag this nice Pets forum off-topic onto what I think of this guy. A Boston Globe reader responded to the dog-on-the-roof story (wish I could find the exact quote, but I think the paper has already been tossed), that this is a typical Romney solution to a problem, quick, business-like, and effective, with no thought to the impact on the parties involved.

(OK, minor rant!>We're just all glad to be rid of him here. Hopefully he was the last of a long line of Republican governors that do and say anything to get elected here, then quickly lose interest in governing, and use the job as a public staging arena for something else they decide they want more.

Susan

Susan

When I was a kid back in the early 60's, we took a road trip from southwest Colorado to California. Three kids, two parents and 2 drooling dogs. Somehow, our parents managed to pack for that long trip for 5 people and 2 dogs, one a collie mix and the other a little bigger than a large dachshund, and keep the dogs INSIDE the car. Yes, we were covered in dog drool, and breathed dog breath, and we had sibling squabbles and asked countless times when we were going to get there and declared countless times that we needed to go to the bathroom, but that's all part of the fun.

I think this showed poor judgement even if he didn't value his luggage more than his dog. It is strongly recommended that you take a break every 2 hours while on a road trip to rest and stretch out your legs. This is to avoid serious accidents caused by sleepy drivers. Sleepy drivers are as dangerous as drunk drivers. Iknow they didn't worry as much drunk drivers nor sleepy drivers back in 1983, but that doesn't change what would have been common sense.

Obviously Romney doesn't have common sense. Common sense dictates the luggage rack is for luggage, and the passenger area is for passengers. Not the other way around.

Sally