It's the story that continues to, well, dog Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney. And, according to some experts, it could jeopardize his standing with voters who care about animals. And yes, it turns out, that is not an insignificant voting bloc.

The incident happened back in 1983, and it's been public since 2007. But it seems that only now a critical mass of voters is hearing it for the first time.

The dog story was told by a Romney son and published by The Boston Globe as part of a multipart series on the former Massachusetts governor. The anecdote was intended to highlight his problem-solving skills.

It seems that during a 12-hour car ride from Massachusetts to Canada back in 1983, there wasn't enough room in the family station wagon for the five Romney sons as well as Seamus, the Irish setter. So Romney put the dog in a crate on the roof instead. "He'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog," according to the story.

Uggie, the canine star of Oscar-nominated hit The Artist, is to retire, his trainer has said.

Omar von Muller told Life and Style magazine he was hanging up his collar because the 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier was "getting tired".

"He may do a couple of little things here and there because he enjoys them, but I don't want to put him through long hours anymore," he said.

It is thought Uggie will make his final appearance at the Oscars.

"I hope he gets to go," said von Muller. "They should give him an envelope to bring to Billy Crystal."

Native dog breeds such as the English Setter are being pushed towards extinction by the growing popularity of more exotic dogs such as huskies and Chihuahuas, new figures suggest.

The setter, once a popular working dog, is one of the country's oldest breeds.

But statistics from the Kennel Club show a two thirds decline in puppy registrations over the last 10 years.

The Chihuahua, popularised by celebrity owners like Paris Hilton, saw a 25% increase in registrations last year.

THE Queensland Government aims to wipe out puppy farms under proposed new registration requirements for dog breeders.
Agriculture Minister Tim Mulherin says unscrupulous breeders who usually run large-scale operations in isolated areas will be squeezed out under a proposed two-tiered breeder registration system.

"These notorious operations generally have very poor conditions - sometimes with hundreds of dogs - and fail to meet any of the dogs' behavioural, social and physiological needs," Mr Mulherin said in a statement.

The registration system will be mandatory for intensive dog breeders with regular monitoring and voluntary registration for smaller scale breeders.

Harrowing photographs of more than 1,000 dogs crammed into tiny cages have enraged animal rights activists in China and around the world.

THEY may be a man's best friend, but research asserts that having a dog will do nothing for a happy household.
A study has found that a family dog will cause almost 2000 family arguments in its lifetime - that's 156 rows a year over an average dog's lifespan of 12.8 years.

The most common cause of canine-related conflict is what to do with the dog during holidays, closely followed by whose turn it is to walk the mutt.

A quarter of owners also regularly row about where the dog should be allowed in the house, with the most frequent battlefields being the bed and the couch.

nimals have been stealing scenes since movies began - but can Hollywood's top dogs really act or is it all down to clever training?

The Artist is being tipped to sweep the board at this year's Oscars - but there will be no Academy Award for one of the silent film's biggest stars.

In fact, he will be lucky to get a pat on the head and a consoling bone to chew on.

Uggie is a nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier - and the Academy is famously sniffy when it comes to handing out prizes to animals.

Lassie, Cheetah and Rin Tin Tin may have been among the biggest stars of their day - but not one of them ever gripped the famous gold statuette in their jaws.

The Branding Villa pub has created a non-alcoholic beer for dogs and is inviting its customers to bring their four-legged friends in to have a pint or two.

A talking dog has topped YouTube's list of most watched videos in the UK for 2011.

The clip shows the pet being teased by its owner about food treats given to others.

The unfortunate mutt appears to speak English, saying "You're kidding me!" after yet another treat escapes his grasp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw

A TAXI driver could not believe his ears when told his fare was a dog, 3220km and 38 hours away.

John Jupp said he was called by a woman who had used his cab before.

"She asked if I take dogs in my taxi. As she had previously been a good customer, I said yes. She then asked me to give her a price to pick the dog up and bring it to her house in Knightsbridge, so I asked her for the address.

"Her reply was truly a moment I will not forget: Madrid," the taxi driver said.

The round journey from Knightsbridge in London to Madrid in Spain is about 3220km and would take around 38 hours.

WHILE Fido is his frisbee-catching best mate, his glam neighbour's pug Sugarplum is a fab accessory for her Prada tote.
New website, pawclub.com.au, has divided dog owners into five categories: the Fashionista, the Bestie, the All Star, the L-Plater and the Guru.

After answering questions on their "dog parenting" style a quarter of all dog owners came in as Fashionistas who pamper their pooches' every need.

Survey finds women prioritise dogs over partners
Four out of five give dogs more time and money
Owners spent almost $3.6 billion on dogs in 2009
FORGET a man's best friend, in Australia it's more like a woman's best friend and a man's worst enemy, a survey has found.

The PawClub.com.au survey of more than 80,000 dog owners revealed four out of five Australian women spend more on their dog than their partner.

But it's not just money, with 77 per cent of women surveyed saying their dog also wins more of their precious time.

iThe body of a soldier who died along with his record breaking sniffer dog in Afghanistan last week will be returned home to the UK.

Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, was shot dead while on patrol in Helmand province.

The ashes of the 26-year-old's dog Theo will be flown home on the same plane.

L/Cpl Tasker, who was called a "rising star" by Army chiefs, was shot by Taliban snipers and Theo died of a seizure shortly after his master.

A dog named Target that lived through explosions in war-torn Afghanistan has been mistakenly put down during a brief stay at an Arizona animal shelter.

A Hungarian company was paid more than £350,000 by the European Union last year to build new facilities to "improve the lifestyle and living standard of dogs", a project that never materialised.

DOGS are not barking mad because they are bored in suburban back yards.

They are suffering separation distress and should be in bed with their owners, where they rightfully belong.

One of Australia's leading animal behaviorists, Dr Robert Holmes, is happy to court controversy by decreeing dogs demonstrating destructive damage or depression are better behaved when welcomed into the boudoir.

"That's where they feel secure and safe, and rightfully part of the family pack," he said.

CHIHUAHUAS and pomeranians are on the list of Queenland''s 100 most menacing dogs.

They might stand less than 30cm tall, but the small pets have now officially been declared menacing creatures by authorities, under controversial new state laws aimed at slowing the state's rising number of dog attacks.

More than a year after the laws were introduced, only 110 dogs have been declared menacing in Queensland, but authorities predict that will soar as awareness of the new laws spreads.

Public officials are to use satnav devices to log the coordinates of dog mess on the streets of Toulouse, southern France.
Police and council staff will use hand-held computers to position and photograph the offending pile – then email the location to street cleaners.

When the kind soul gave me Punch as a pup, after the tragic death of Chunky the bull terrier when he jumped out of the moving car in his eagerness to get to the restaurant for breakfast, he was described as being an American bull dog. Now that I have Miss Polly, a real American bull dog, I am beginning to think the vet was right when she told me that I now had a very fit and active pit bull that many South Australians wrongly described because of fear that the authorities would declare them illegal.
Whatever.
Punch is a rather strong willed and physically strong fellow so when he told me I should be giving more coverage on my blog to matters of real scientific importance I was inclined to take notice. Hence today's coverage of the research by Andrew Dickerson, a graduate student at Georgia Tech on how fast different animals "oscillate their bodies to shed water droplets."
National Public Radio reports that for his study called "The Wet-Dog Shake," which appeared in the journal Fluid Dynamics, Dickerson and his colleagues slowed down images of animals — dogs, a bear, even a mouse — shaking themselves dry. The footage was shot with a high-speed video camera.

The researchers found that both bears and dogs shake at a similar speed — around 4 Hz and 4-5 Hz, respectively. In this case, hertz refers to the frequency of skin oscillations per second. And it turns out that the smaller the animal, the faster it has to shake to dry. Thus, a cat can get by with shaking around 6 Hz. But its nemesis, the mouse, requires 27 Hz to dry off.
Punch told me he found that far more interesting than what I write about Australian politics.

If you've ever seen a dog trying to shaking itself dry after taking a plunge into water — or perhaps while standing next to the person who just gave it a bath — you've probably noticed that the technique can throw off a shocking amount of water.

First it was Delhi's beggars, now many of the city's canine residents have gone missing.

Usually dogs are an integral part of the street scene in Delhi - curled asleep in gutters with traffic buzzing inches from their noses, or dozing under parked cars.

But outside the Games village it is a different scene.

Dog catchers are rounding up dogs using long poles with nooses on the end and tossing them roughly into the back of trucks.

A dog owner invented a missing three-year-old niece to get police to search for his wandering pet, a court heard.

The claims by Richard Dale Jones, 31, of Wrexham, sparked a major police search.

North Wales Police dispatched 30 officers and the force helicopter, RAF Valley was alerted and the local search and rescue service was called out.

Jones admitted wasting police time when he appeared before Flintshire magistrates.

Pet owners who believe their dog's a dud may be barking up the wrong tree, according to an expert who says it's more likely master and mutt have been mismatched.

In fact, the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) says dippy dogs are a myth which is being perpetuated by our own bad choices.

"Lots of people talk about dumb breeds, but this probably just means that you've chosen the wrong type of dog to meet your expectations," says Australian Veterinary Association animal behaviourist Kersti Seksel.

Four-legged fashion is, contrary to all logic, proving to be recession-proof. The latest Minitel consumer report, released last week, revealed that the market for "little luxuries" such as a dog's evening dress (tails, bow-tie, buttonhole and top hat, £28 from maxandmargot.co.uk) continued to expand this year, with pet-maintenance spending reaching an unprecedented £2.4 billion.
... But you know the ground has really shifted when designers Roberto Cavalli and Mulberry start sending pugs down the catwalk/dogwalk. Since 2009, both fashion houses have produced seasonal animals' outfits that complement the brand's identity, Mulberry offering classic, wholesome Fair Isle knitted dog jumpers (A/W 2010), while Cavalli creates racy jaguar-print pet jackets and satin-trimmed bathrobes.

Most Australian pet owners say their animals are more loving and dependable than their partners - and they are happy to lavish money on their pets in return, a survey has found.

A report compiled by the Australian Companion Animal Council this month also showed pet ownership now contributes $6.02 billion to the national economy, a $1.4 billion increase since 2005. Council president Dr Kersti Seksel said the increase was mainly due to expensive ''treats'' and pet luxuries such as doggy daycare and customised pet beds.

Iranian authorities have banned all advertisements for pets, pet food and other pet products.

The decision by Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance comes after the fatwa was issued by powerful cleric Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi.
While keeping dogs as pets has become increasingly fashionable in Iran in recent years, the fatwa cited Islamic tradition, which dictates that dogs are unclean.

The RSPCA is calling on federal election candidates to find the "political animal" within and lobby for the regulation of puppy farms.

RSPCA Australia chief executive Heather Neil said RSPCA inspectors had discovered 12 illegal dog breeding farms in Queensland alone in the past two years.

Panorama's Tom Heap follows two Staffordshire Bull Terriers - Ska and Brandy - as they are tested by staff at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to see if they are suitable to be offered out for adoption to find them new homes.
Battersea has released new figures showing that about a third of the dogs they take in have to be put to sleep. Most of them are healthy animals but they are deemed to be unsuitable for rehoming. Animal charities such as Battersea say the problem is on the rise and is in part a reflection of a growing street trend for aggressive-looking 'status' dogs.

Using MRI scans, researchers have discovered that the brains of small, pug-like dogs have rotated forward in their skulls compared with larger, long-nosed dogs such as Dalmatians and German shepherds. And the olfactory lobe, responsible for smelling, is lower in the brain cavity.

An Anglican church in Canada has become the focus of controversy after a vicar gave Holy Communion to a dog.

Dog attacks have surged to more than 1,300 over just three months, latest figures reveal.

Local councils have reported a 16 per cent increase in the number of attacks, with 1,306 attacks taking place between April and June.

"It's not just people who are being attacked by dogs," NSW Local Government Minister Barbara Perry said in a statement on Sunday.

"There were also 1,235 animal victims including other dogs, cats and livestock that suffered from a dog attack during the last three months

"Unfortunately these attacks on animals resulted in 522 deaths."

The staffordshire bull terrier was the dog breed most commonly involved with 167 attacks over the three-month period.

DOG owners say that new laws to allow allow canine companions in cafes and restaurants are a ''victory for commonsense''.
The NSW Government has introduced amendments to laws governing food safety and companion animals so that dog owners and cafe proprietors do not risk fines or being named and shamed by the Food Authority.
The prohibition on dogs in food service areas only came to light last year when Mosman Council received complaints from a few residents regarding dogs in Balmoral cafes. Until then, councils had largely turned a blind eye.

Couple buy dog for $300
'$500,000 spent' to keep him alive
Ruling to determine his fate

A GOLD Coast couple's six-year $500,000 fight to have their dog Tango classified as an American staffordshire terrier, rather than an American pit bull, has failed.
Kylie Chivers and John Mokomoko took on the Gold Coast City Council in the Supreme Court over the identification of Tango in a bid to keep him due to American pit bulls being a banned breed in the region, The Gold Coast Bulletin reports.

However, Judge J Martin ruled today that Tango was an American pit bull. Under local council's by-laws the dog is now deemed dangerous and needs to be put down.

The fact that Jemima Harrison had even dared to show her face at Crufts this year is testament to how determined she is to force Britain's pedigree-dog breeders to reform their ways. Among breeders she is, by and large, public enemy number one.

Two years ago her film Pedigree Dogs Exposed aired on the BBC and sent shockwaves through the dog-breeding world. Her undercover exposé shone an uncomfortably bright light on dog shows, and as a result the BBC and the RSPCA pulled out of supporting Crufts altogether.

A passionate lover of dogs who has her own rescue centre, she had grown increasingly worried at how some breeders would happily inbreed their dogs to levels where horrendous health problems were all but guaranteed – all in the pursuit of an aesthetic ideal that is lauded on the dog show circuit. Boxers with epilepsy and spaniels with brains too large for their heads were just two of the more shocking examples she uncovered.

THE RSPCA has urged the Victorian Government to consider introducing a "competency test" for would-be dog owners.

The measures are being considered by the UK government, and Victorian RSPCA CEO Maria Mercurio said she would urge the Victorian government to follow suit.

RESIDENTS of a Darwin suburb woke up to a new street name this week.

Millner St in Millner was renamed "Dog Street" after someone painted over the street name in black and white as a joke.

The signs at both ends of the street have been changed and the person responsible is unknown.

PET owners could be punished for not walking their dogs, under radical new laws being proposed by the RSPCA.

Under the legislation, they would have to regularly exercise dogs, ensure animals are not kept chained up and give their pets adequate food and water. If the proposal becomes law, dog and cat owners across Australia would face prosecution, fines of up to $12,000 fines for animal cruelty and magistrates could consider jail in extreme circumstances.

LET dogs be dogs. And stop chaining them to the burdens of modern human life, says a top veterinary behaviourist and dog lover.

Dr Paul McGreevy believes we often overlook the impact of modern life on our cherished canines.

He said we need to remember that, despite their long and unique relationship with humans, the modern human world can be confusing and frustrating for dogs.

DOG owners who stop for a cappuccino on their morning walk on Sydney's lower north shore could face fines of $330 under a council crackdown.

Two NSW laws prevent dogs from being within 10m of a food consumption or preparation area, but not one Sydney council enforces the discretionary rule.Mosman Council is moving to fine both cafe and canine owners if they breach the Companion Animals Act 1998 and the Food Safety Act 2003, after receiving ``a few'' complaints from residents.

In what could be a landmark case, a Canberra couple fighting to keep their three toy poodles in their inner-city apartment are being taken to court this week by the complex's owners' corporation.

Under the new laws, a unit owner can keep an animal if they have the consent of the owners' corporation but that consent ''must not be unreasonably withheld''. Disputes would go to the new ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal rather than the Magistrates Court.

But the new laws come into effect only in March, which is not soon enough for David and Barbara Sinclair, of Turner, who must face the Magistrates Court tomorrow in a bid to prevent moves by the owners' corporation for them to get rid of their much-loved, de-barked toy poodles, Simba, 7; Emily, 6; and Sophie, 6.

Children run less risk of being sensitive to allergens if there is a dog in the house in the early years of their lives, scientists have found.

The conclusion, based on a six-year study of 9,000 children, adds weight to the theory that growing up with a pet trains the immune system to be less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies such as asthma, eczema and hay fever.

In most cities, taking your dog for a walk in the dead of night could be seen as a personal quirk or a byproduct of insomnia. But in Beijing, it's a sure sign that the city's dogcatchers are on the prowl for illicit mutts. If you don't want your pet to end up in the pen or as protein on someone's plate, it's best to keep a low profile.