Kristi Noem again defends killing puppy and suggests it makes her a more “authentic” leader

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem spent the weekend digging a deeper hole for herself and blowing up any chance of becoming Donald Trump’s pick for Vice President. 

Last week, the Guardian revealed an excerpt from Noem’s soon-to-be-published memoir. 

In it, she details the way she took a puppy, named Cricket, to a gravel pit and shot it dead in front of a “starled construction crew”. Noem says in the book she “hated” the dog, it could not be trained for hunting and was “aggressive” towards other animals and humans. 

She also reveals she killed a “musky, disgusting, rancid” goat that chased her children. However, the first shot only wounded the animal. She had to go to her truck to reload her gun to finish the job.

When The Guardian story ran, Noem realized some damage limitation was in order. 

“We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,” Noem said on X. “Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.”

This did little to quell the furor online. Even experienced farmhands said that putting down a horse toward the end of its life is not the same as shooting a puppy.

“Painful decisions”

Yesterday, Noem posted another attempt to defend her actions. 

“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 learned. 

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

“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 goes on to say she did nothing illegal.

“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. 

“Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle. Even if it’s hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.

“As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy. But often the easy way isn’t the right way.”

Politicians posts photos of their dogs

If Noem thought this would abate the storm of criticism from across the political spectrum, she was sadly mistaken. Her latest tweet has prompted 25k comments. Few were praising her for slaughtering a young dog in cold blood. 

Several Democratic Governors, led by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), posted photos of themselves with their dogs. He invited people to submit photos of pooches that don’t “involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit.” 

Post a picture with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. https://t.co/X5W61xGISd pic.twitter.com/qFQ63FTBQU— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) April 27, 2024

Even Republican Kari Lake, a rival for Trump’s Vice President selection, posted a photo of herself with her dog. She didn’t mention Noem but it’s hard to believe the timing was a coincidence. 

Everyone wish Sushi a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! She’s brought our family so much joy & tons of laughs over the years.

Jeff and I are so busy on the campaign trail, sometimes I wish we could just bring our Pug along. Should we?! pic.twitter.com/640mUuG1Lj— Kari Lake (@KariLake) April 28, 2024

Here are some other reactions.

From now on, whenever anyone thinks of Kristi Noem they’ll remember that she shot her puppy in the face and dumped him in a gravel pit. #PuppyKiller pic.twitter.com/Bix2CTU1GJ— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) April 29, 2024

My cat died when he was six. I'll never get over it and I'd do anything to get him back.

Kristi Noem murdered her puppy because she couldn't be bothered. This is who they are.— Mary L. Trump (@MaryLTrump) April 26, 2024

A woman who thinks you should shut up about her right to shoot her puppy wants to force teenage girls to carry their rapist’s baby.— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 28, 2024

I'm almost tired of her being right about everything pic.twitter.com/E9I4Ktj7Hf— I Shot Up With Lysol (@BlackKnight10k) April 27, 2024

ACT NOW!

For just $.10 a day you can help us save a puppy from Kristi Noem pic.twitter.com/WzuMq5atNi— Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) April 27, 2024

My family has a ranch outside of Sedona – no one has ever shot a dog for any reason. This is not a “rural/ranch” thing. My Dads dog Burmas ashes are on our family mantle after he died naturally.

This story is something out of a horror movie. https://t.co/KKc0EZS8K6— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) April 28, 2024

One cool thing about not killing a pet, is that you don’t have to explain that time when you killed a pet.— John Collins (@Logically_JC) April 28, 2024

Oh, and amidst all the outcry about the puppy, let’s also not forget…

I feel maybe it’s wrong that we aren’t talking enough about the goat.— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 26, 2024