GROSSE POINTE, MI – When Rick Santorum was going door-to-door in Pennsylvania in his 1990 congressional campaign, an old lady’s dog urinated on his lap.

Santorum used the anecdote of the embarrassing animal encounter to grab the attention of a crowd of students at Grosse Pointe South High School on Wednesday in a speech about leadership and perseverance.

He continued knocking on doors that day despite the wet lap, and came to the home of famous Pittsburgh Pirates baseball player Kent Tekulve. When the pitcher opened the door and looked down at his stained pants, Santorum said “Mr. Tekulve, I’m so excited to meet you.”

“I got his vote and I won that election,” Santorum said, telling the students to fight through disasters when they inevitably come.

“You can turn them around if you persevere. You have no idea what good things can come… I was off the radar screen completely and we ended up winning that race. We were able to overcome odds over and over again.”

The Santorum appearance, organized by a conservative student group that raised $18,000 to bring the former senator to their school, was at one point cancelled by school district administrators concerned over a potentially polarizing political speech.

They ultimately approved the event with assurances that Santorum would stick to leadership advice. Parental permission slips were required for students to attend the speech.

Santorum didn’t steer entirely clear of politics. He talked at length about welfare reform, which the former senator successfully championed in the 1990s.

“I don't see poverty as a disability,” he said. “Never did. I saw poverty as a condition, as a condition that can be overcome.”

He said incentives for seeking work rather than continuous government support are key to reducing poverty levels.

“When you create a system where it’s easier and more profitable not to work, then don't be surprised if they don't work,” he said. “… Sometimes, we have to respect people enough to make them do things that are right for them to do, but they do not really want to do. And it's understandable. Particularly if they're in poverty.”

A group of ninth graders after the speech talked about being glad school officials allowed the appearance, even if they didn't agree with everything Santorum said.

“I don’t totally agree with him, but just to hear that side of the story, I like to hear other perspectives," said ninth-grader Jessica Alexander,15.

“I didn't like the way he talked about poverty,” said Leah Manion, 15.

“He had some good advice, but he was a little biased,” said Bianca Garcia, 15.

Jennine Gant, whose son was part of the group that brought the former presidential candidate to the school, said she expects Santorum’s appearance to help students develop opinions and start to think about involvement civics.

“In the end, it was about leadership,” Gant said. “I didn’t find anything he said to be overtly offensive.”

Follow Khalil AlHajal on Twitter @DetroitKhalil or on Facebook at Detroit Khalil. He can be reached at kalhajal@mlive.com or 313-643-0527.