Dogs Against Romney
Valentines day in New York City will feature a group of dog enthusiasts gathered in front of Madison Square Garden protesting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s treatment of his family dog Seamus.
“Dogs Against Romney” is a group of dog lovers that went “viral” in 2007, claims an internet user who identifies himself as “Rusty” on www.dogsagainstromney.com. The protest will take place during the 136th Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
The “Dogs Against Romney” Facebook group has over 25,000 likes and over 11,000 people talking about it, so it will be interesting to see how many political activists accept the website’s invite to show up to Madison Square Garden for the one of the nation’s longest running dog shows to protest Mr. Romney.
“Dogs Against Romney” was started by Scott Crider, an Alabama marketing specialist outraged by the former Massachusetts governor’s perceived mistreatment of his family dog, The Boston Globe reports.
“I went viral in 2007 – big time. I was featured by TIME, CNN, newspapers nationwide, thousands of blogs, and written about in a book titled “And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture” by Bill Wasik. Lets do it again,” reads the “Dogs Against Romney” Facebook page.
Although the “Dogs Against Romney” website claims not to endorse any of the 2012 presidential candidates, there is a message on the website highlighting their support of “Pet Lovers for Obama,” which has a Facebook group run by the Obama 2012 campaign staff.
“You are invited to join your fellow dog lovers on Valentine’s Day, tomorrow, Tuesday, February 14, to protest Mitt Romney’s abusive treatment of dogs,” reads the web invitation to the event.
Seamus
According to the “Dogs Against Romney” website, Seamus is a dog that Mr. Romney placed in a dog carrier and strapped to the hood his car for a 12 hour drive from Massachusetts to Canada in 1983.
Seamus is an Irish sitter, and reportedly soiled itself during the ride, but was not harmed.
Mr. Romney has mostly avoided talking about the incident and claims that no harm was done to the dog during that trip. However, the story has continued to be a negative mark on his past surrounding his campaign.
Although Mr. Romney is not being protested by an animal rights group as large as PETA, “Dogs Against Romney” has a large social media presence and the appearance at the Westminster dog show will give the group a national platform.
The former governor has admitted to strapping the dog to the roof of his car, but has dismissed the negative attention it continues to bring to his campaign.
Romney critics, rivals
Democrats have been critical of Mr. Romney’s treatment of the dog throughout the Republican primary race.
President Barack Obama has increased the public presence of his family dog Bo, that lives at the White House with him. The Democratic National Committee has tweeted photos of the president with the family dog alongside critical remarks about Mr. Romney, to draw a contrast between the two candidates.
“Dogs Against Romney” hasn’t had a major impact on Mr. Romney in the 2012 race thus far though, as he has won two caucuses, two primary elections and has a substantial lead in terms of delegate votes on his competitors.
It will be interesting to see if the “Dogs Against Romney” protest Tuesday brings more attention from the media and rival Republican candidates to Mr. Romney’s past treatment of his family dog.
