Kristi Noem Defends Killing Of Puppy Amid Backlash
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been facing backlash over her decision to shoot and kill her puppy, a revelation she made in her new forthcoming book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.”
However, she is defending herself, saying that the dog was showing aggressive behavior.
In a post on X on Sunday, she wrote, “I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old (sic) story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book — No Going Back. The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned.”
“What I learned from my years of public service, especially leading South Dakota through COVID, is people are looking for leaders who are authentic, willing to learn from the past, and don’t shy away from tough challenges. My hope is anyone reading this book will have an understanding that I always work to make the best decisions I can for the people in my life,” she continued, adding, “The fact is, South Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down. Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did.”
“As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy. But often the easy way isn’t the right way,” she concluded.
I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book — No Going Back. The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons…
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) April 28, 2024
Noem began facing outrage over the issue after The Guardian released a report on an excerpt from her memoir, which is scheduled to be released on May 7. Noem, in the excerpt, said that she took her 14-month-old female dog, Cricket, to a “gravel pit” close to her farm. She then shot the dog because it had killed and eaten several chickens and was “less than worthless” and “untrainable.”
According to her, the puppy had once ruined a hunting trip she took her on by going “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.”
“It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done,” she added in the book, in which she also described how she killed a “nasty and mean” goat at the same gravel pit where she killed Cricket.
According to the governor, her decision to kill Cricket shows her willingness to solve “difficult, messy, and ugly” problems.
Noem’s revelation attracted outrage from both sides of the political aisle, as a post she made on Friday about that part of her book received heavy criticism.
We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.
If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping,… pic.twitter.com/bKhpUkchHV
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) April 26, 2024
Popular conservative X account Catturd wrote, “Omg – now my blood is boiling. Remember, I’m a country boy who lives on a ranch . There’s a huge difference between putting an old horse down who is suffering, than shooting a 18 month dog for being untrainable. But then to plug your book at the end.”
Omg – now my blood is boiling.
Remember, I’m a country boy who lives on a ranch . There’s a huge difference between putting an old horse down who is suffering, than shooting a 18 month dog for being untrainable.
But then to plug your book at the end.
Seriously, is it just me?… https://t.co/VhwxnZrd0o
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) April 26, 2024
Democrat Montana gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse weighed in to say, “Anyone who has ever owned a birddog knows how disgusting, lazy and evil this is. Damn.”
Anyone who has ever owned a birddog knows how disgusting, lazy and evil this is.
Damn.
Trump VP contender Kristi Noem writes of killing dog – and goat – in new book | Books | The Guardian https://t.co/bK8Pt6NKEV
— Ryan Busse (@ryandbusse) April 26, 2024
“Telling everybody you shot your young dog and promoting your book at the same time? wtf, this is wild,” the conservative political commentary duo Hodgetwins wrote.
Telling everybody you shot your young dog and promoting your book at the same time?
wtf, this is wild https://t.co/e9Cjqyz9QE
— Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) April 27, 2024
