Terrier analyzes Mitt's dog-on-roof decision

By: Daisy

Even though I wasn't born yet in 1983, when Mitt Romney decided to drive cross-country with his Irish setter on the roof of the family station wagon -- a move that is being attacked by his rival Newt Gingrich -- I can sure weigh in on it.
First of all, we dogs just love riding in cars. It's great to look out the window, and not just because we get a change of scenery. Yesterday, when my co-owner Rich pulled into a gas station and rolled down the window to talk to the attendant, I could hear the chirping of the birds outside and my mouth started watering. Yum!
But when Rich takes me on a car trip, I have the whole back seat of his Toyota Corolla to stretch out on (including a red doggie blanket). Mitt actually put the family dog, Seamus, on top of his car. Now, OK, he didn't do something totally ridiculous like tie him to the roof like a Christmas tree. He used his CEO ingenuity to put Seamus in a crate and even improvised a windshield. But c'mon, the poor fella (Seamus, not Mitt) still ended up getting so scared he had what an LA Times writer called "digestive trouble."
Now, I'm not saying that what Mitt did was on the level of Michael Vick. There were seven people (Mitt, his wife and their five children) in that station wagon, and space was at a premium. Mitt even argues that Seamus liked being up on top, as opposed to inside a cramped car. I have to admit, I start to feel claustrophobic when there's just three people inside our Corolla!
But the fact is, the best place for us dogs in cars is in the back, and the less outside exposure we get, the better. "Don't allow your pet to ride with his head outside the window," the ASPCA warns. "He could be injured by flying objects. And please keep him in the back seat in his crate or with a harness attached to a seat buckle."
So to Mitt, I say this: If you really want to be President someday, I hope that in your political career, you don't improvise any more shortcuts like this, and take the time and expense to do things more responsibly. And to Rich, I say this: If you ever get the idea to put ME in a crate on top of the car, even with a windshield, I'm baring my incisors and staying home.

Daisy is a 9-year-old West Highland white terrier living in Cambridge, Mass.