After South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem admitted in her new book to killing her "untrainable" 14-month-old puppy Cricket, she found herself at the center of a media storm that's threatened her viability as a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump.
Noem laid out the decision to kill the dog in her forthcoming memoir No Going Back. She wrote that “Cricket was a wirehair pointer, about 14 months old" with an “aggressive personality." She said she "hated" the "untrainable" dog and decided to shoot Cricket after taking her to a gravel pit.
The disturbing anecdote first garnered attention after The Guardianreported on it, noting that Noem also wrote about killing a goat she claimed was "nasty and mean" and “loved to chase” Noem's children.
Now she's defending her decision to kill the dog, saying in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, that she "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."
She added:
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."
"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."
Noem framed the story as an example of the grimmer aspects of farm life that sometimes have to be faced. She said she has "never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle" and that she had simply "followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor."
You can see her post below.
In another post, Noem highlighted the article from The Guardian, once again positioning her story within the context of farm life, where difficult decisions about animals are part of daily reality.
She framed the killing of her dog as a necessary and common decision, writing:
"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, preorder 'No Going Back.'"
You can see her post below.
But no one was buying her attempts to rationalize animal cruelty.
Political prognosticators believe Noem's admission and the resulting bipartisan outrage have potentially torpedoed her chances of being Trump's running mate.
In September 2023, Noem said she would be Trump's 2024 running mate “in a heartbeat.” She said the possibility is attractive to her "because you respect the position and the person who asks you to do something and then see if you really believe that you could make a difference."
At the time, Noem suggested she would be a great partner on the campaign trail because "Trump needs a strong partner if he’s going to take back the White House." She said he needs someone "who knows what it’s like to run a business, to be an employee, earn a paycheck, but also having a wife, mom, and grandma isn’t bad either.”