Sen. Mitt Romney bristled at reports Tuesday comparing his own years-old canine controversy to that of South Dakota Kristi Noem, who reportedly admits in an upcoming memoir that she shot and killed her own 14-month old German wirehaired pointer puppy, Cricket, after determining it was “less than worthless” as a bird hunter and attacked a neighbor’s chickens. Romney was widely criticized after a story surfaced during the 2012 presidential campaign that he had tied his family dog, Seamus, to the roof of his car for a road trip. “I didn’t eat my dog. I didn’t shoot my dog. I loved my dog, and my dog loved me,” Romney told reporters Tuesday, also getting in an apparent jab at a dog-eating scandal that plagued former President Barack Obama during the 2012 campaign. He also hit out at the South Dakota governor’s fading vice presidential aspirations, telling HuffPost: “I guess it kind of makes it a little difficult for President Trump to find someone to be his [vice president]. He has to look for someone smarter than him, better speaker than him and, like him, does not get burdened with principles.”