Whatever happened to Seamus?
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Since it was a 25-year-old story when we first wrote about it, and since it’s nearing 30 now, we haven’t weighed in too much during this latest rebirth of the saga of Seamus, the dog Mitt Romney put on the roof of his car for a trip to Canada.
But now comes a report that, after arriving in Canada, Seamus ran away. (And who could blame him?)
The Observer.com report, on the blog Politicker, seems to imply that Seamus ran away for good, but it’s a little vague, and the new developments, if they can be called that, are based on pretty flimsy reporting:
“Mitt Romney may not have told the whole truth about the scandalous tale of his Irish Setter, Seamus, being strapped to the roof of his car during a 12-hour family road trip to Canada. According to a trusted Politicker tipster, two of Mr. Romney’s sons had an off-record conversation with reporters where they revealed the dog ran away when they reached their destination on that infamous journey in 1983.”
Romney’s wife, Ann, has previously been reported as saying Seamus survived the trip and went on to live to a “ripe old age” — one would presume with the same family.
Other reports indicate Seamus moved in with Romney’s sister — but don’t say why — and that he lived happily on a farm until his death.
Politicker reported that Romney’s campaign has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the most recent twist in the old story.
Seamus’ story first came to light in a 2007 Boston Globe profile of Romney. The family was on its annual drive to Ontario, to visit Romney’s father’s cottage in the gated Beach O’ Pines community on Lake Huron. The story included details about Romney’s son noting a brown fluid dripping down the rear window, apparently from the dog, who was in a crate on the roof, with a barrier in front to shield him from the wind. It recounts a gas station stop where Seamus and car were hosed down before moving on.
The original story didn’t get into what became of Seamus, and the reporter, Neil Swidey, doesn’t answer the question in a recent article about the story’s continued resurgence.
So we’ll join in asking the question that other bloggers — including Dogs Against Romney — are raising: Whatever happened to Seamus?
Posted by jwoestendiek February 2nd, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, campaign, candidate, car, crate, crate gate, dogs, irish setter, mitt romney, observer, off the record, pets, politicker, politics, presidential, ran away, republican, roof, rooftop, runaway, seamus, station wagon, vacation, whatever happened to seamus
Comments
Comment from Miss Jan
Time February 2, 2012 at 2:49 pm
You said exactly what I was thinking, Anne’n'Spencer. And that comment about not worried about the poor – I listened to the whole misguided floundering speech not the snippet and everyone republican was whining about how the part about the poor was taken out of context. Um, no. It wasn’t. This is a man who cares naught about anything but money. God help us all if he gets elected. On the other hand, Obama signed legislation recently re-authorizing the slaughter of horses in US plants – so given the horrific end that these horses reach when sent to slaughter – which Obama well knows because the anti-slaughter people showed him so – I guess I can’t get any enthusiasm going any more for him either. Bumper sticker seen says it all: “So how’s that ‘hope and change’ workin’ for ya, hmmm?”
Comment from Anne’n'Spencer
Time February 2, 2012 at 9:40 am
He’s already said that he’s not interested in human beings who happen to be poor. What chance does a dog have?