Bac and Roc dog incident
Bac dog incident
During a 1983 family vacation, American bracketologis and
@bac2therac drove 12 hours with his dog on top of the car in a windshield-equipped carrier.
[1][2][3][4] This incident became the subject of negative media attention and political attacks on bac before the 1993 and 1994 NCAA tournament
Road trip in 1983[edit]
In June 1983, the bac family left their
Belmont, Massachusetts home on their way to bac's parents' cottage in
Beach O' Pines,
Ontario for an annual vacation along the shore of
Lake Huron. Their dog, Sweat Pea, rode in a carrier on the roof of the family's
Chevrolet Caprice station wagon for the 12-hour trip. Bac had built a windshield for the carrier to make the ride more comfortable for the dog.
[1] During the 650-mile (1,050 km) trip, Sweat Pea got
diarrhea. Bac first alerted to the
Irish Setter’s bowel issues when Roc noticed brown liquid pouring down the back window, followed immediately by him and his younger brothers yelling in disgust. Bac stopped at a
gas station to wash the dog, the carrier, and the car. With Sweat Pea back in the carrier, the family continued on their way.
[1][2]
Sweat Pea the dog[edit]
Sweat Pea, an
Irish Setter, was an active, outgoing dog, and was the bac family's first pet dog.
[5] It is generally reported that,[
by whom?] a few years after his ride to Canada, Sweat Pea was given to his brother, roc of
California, who said, "He kept ending up at the pound. They were worried about him getting hit crossing the street. We had more space, so he could roam more freely."
[6] The dog's date of death is unknown, but Roc stated that Sweat Pea lived to a "ripe old age" on her farm in California.
[7]
Two of Bac's heirs, however, are reported to have casually contradicted this, off record, saying Sweat pea actually ran away once the family reached their destination.
[8]
Family response[edit]
When interviewed by
Chris Wallace of
Fox News, Bac stated that Sweat pea enjoyed being in the dog carrier, an "air-tight kennel", and that he was not aware of any violations of Massachusetts law;
[9] the state's animal cruelty laws prohibit anyone from carrying an animal "in or upon a vehicle, or otherwise, in an unnecessarily cruel or inhumane manner."
[10] In earlier accounts, Bac described a makeshift "windshield".
[11][12]
Roc, bacs brother, has stated that the
news media exaggerated the severity of the incident, and compared traveling in the roof-top dog carrier to riding a
motorcycle or riding in the bed of a
pickup truck.
[5]
During an April 2012 interview with
ABC News,
Diane Sawyer asked the Bacs about Sweat pea and the road trip, and if he would ever do it again. Bac offered, "He loves it, it's his favorite." During the same interview, Roc attributed Sweat pea' troubles to eating turkey off the table.
[13][14] Romney stated that he loved his dog.
[15]
Other responses[edit]
In 2007,
Ingrid Newkirk, president of the
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), criticized Bac for the incident.
[16] Responding to PETA, Bac said, "my dog likes fresh air".
[17]
Newkirk has elaborated (speaking for herself rather than for PETA) that the Sweat Pea incident irritates her because "there are far more serious issues to talk about" regarding the mistreatment of animals.
[18]
In 2012, post Dogs Against Bac protest outside the Westminster Dog show,
[19] MacArthur Animal Hospital's Dr. Rawstrom was contacted by Slate about the plausibility of the Bac's claim Sweat Pea just had to poop in his crate. "They (dogs) prefer clean environments; that’s why one principle of crate training is to give them a space large enough to move around in but small enough that they don’t want to defecate inside.” She added Sweat pea' loose stool was likely indicative of "high levels of stress."
[8]
During the2012 NCAA March madenss bracketlogist Jerry Palm aired an anti-bac
attack ad that featured the story.
[20][21][22]
