First there was Seamus, the Romney family Irish Setter whom they admit to strapping to the roof of their car (at least once) for a 12-hour drive to Canada as if he was luggage. They left poor Seamus up on the roof even after he became ill and soiled himself and the car. Mitt, in what was described by his campaign as "emotion free crisis management" merely hosed Seamus down and continued on the trip for hours more.
Now there is a horse named Super Hit.
In 2008, the Romneys sold a horse named Super Hit for $125,000. The
horse was subsequently found to be lame and unable to perform dressage.
Dr. Steven Soule, veterinarian for the U.S. Equestrian Team, was
consulted. He found that Super Hit,
at
the time he was sold, had been drugged with a staggering amount of
painkillers - more than he had ever seen given to a horse in 38-years of
practice.
Super Hit's new owners sued Ann Romney, her trainers
and her vet. The case was settled out of court last September. The
Romney campaign called the case "frivolous," but refused to allow the LA
Times to interview the Romneys, their trainers, or their vet. The LA
Times also reports that Romney's lawyers have sought to keep the case
out of the public eye by trying to get the attorney of Super Hit's new
owners to sign a confidentiality agreement.
The Romneys
continue their relationship with the same trainers under whom Super Hit
was given a staggering amount of painkillers so that he could be forced
to continue performing.
Sources:
Buzzfeed: http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/ann-romneys-high-horse
LA Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/22/nation/la-na-ann-romney-dressage-20120522/2
