I'm glad we've gotten smarter but considering the stuff people did in the 80s and earlier before we knew better I can't find this (of all the problems with Romney) disqualifying of a candidate.
Furthermore:
(a) There's plenty of ammunition to be used against Romney regarding his conservative bonafides (or lack thereof);
(b) Newt bringing this up is, like his attacks on Bain, just another example of the bizarre idea that a republican (or a RINO like Newt) should attack Romney from the left;
(c) A lot of the people here having a nervous breakdown over the "poor dog" are the same ones who never seemed to worry about "Saint Sarah the Divine" supporting the iditarod.