Mitt Romney Distinguishes His Pet Scandal from Kristi Noem's: "I Didn't Shoot My Dog"

In the latest twist of pet-related political drama, Mitt Romney, the Republican senator from Utah, has come forward to differentiate his own controversial pet scandal from the recent uproar surrounding South Dakota governor Kristi Noem's admission of shooting her 14-month-old hunting dog. In a terse remark to reporters, Romney insisted his own infamous pet scandal involving his dog Seamus was worlds apart from Noem's actions. "I didn't eat my dog. I didn't shoot my dog. I loved my dog, and my dog loved me," the Utah Republican senator stated.

Romney's remarks refer to the 2012 revelation that he had once traveled with his family's Irish setter, Seamus, in a crate atop their car for a 12-hour road trip. While concerning to animal lovers, the incident pales in comparison to Noem's controversial decision, as detailed in her forthcoming memoir. In the book, the South Dakota governor recounted shooting and killing her 14-month-old hunting dog Cricket after deeming the animal 'untrainable' and 'less than worthless.' The shocking admission has sparked outrage across the political spectrum, as per Yahoo! News.

Many see it as a potential career-ender for Noem's national ambitions despite speculation she could be chosen as Donald Trump's running mate. Romney weighed in on this, telling HuffPost, "I guess it kind of makes it a little difficult for President Trump to find someone to be his [vice-president]." In a sardonic remark, he added Trump "has to look for someone smarter than him, [a] better speaker than him and, like him, does not get burdened with principles."

While Romney's Seamus incident drew ire during his 2012 campaign, he appears to view Noem's actions as far more egregious. The 83-year-old former Massachusetts governor made clear the difference between questionably transporting a pet and outright killing one's own dog. "I cannot imagine circumstances that would lead one to take one's dog to a gravel pit, particularly an 11 month old & shoot it," Romney stated, as per Mediaite.

Noem has defended her decision, citing South Dakota laws that permit killing dogs that attack livestock. In her book, she claims Cricket had killed a neighbor's chickens as well. However, the governor's actions have been widely condemned by animal welfare advocates who argue the dog's young age and misbehaviors did not warrant lethal force. Hunting experts have also questioned whether Cricket's alleged issues justified killing her so young in her training. As the backlash mounted, Noem sought to portray the incident as simply part of life on a ranch. "Tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm," she tweeted, further revealing she recently put down three elderly horses, saying, "We love animals. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years."