The Democrats have thrown a bone into the Mitt Romney dog dustup without even so much as barking the Republican's first name. (Sorry, had to do it.)

Romney has been, um, hounded over his recounting of a 1983 family car trip from Boston to a cottage in Grand Bend, Ont. The family dog, Seamus, was in a carrier strapped to the roof of a Chevy station wagon, which was fashioned with a special windshield.

Reporter Neil Swidey of the Boston Globe wrote recently that the Romneys swear their Irish setter enjoyed the trip. But that at one point, Seamus had a bout of diarrhea, which could be seen running down the rear window.

On Monday, David Axelrod, one of Barack Obama's top campaign strategists, tweeted this: