South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on Sunday justified the killing of her puppy, Cricket, when it was 14 months old, in the face of bipartisan criticism.
Noem expressed his understanding on TruthSocial regarding the controversy surrounding a narrative from his new book, No Going Back, which revisits a 20-year-old incident involving Cricket, a working dog at the ranch.
Actually, it is legal to shoot and kill dogs in South Dakota if they assault and kill animals. “I decided what I did” since Cricket had exhibited violent behavior against others by biting them, she noted.
Noem, who was once thought to be a leading candidate to run on the Republican ticket with Trump, detailed the choice to slaughter the puppy in her upcoming biography “No Going Back,” an astonishing story that was reported by The Guardian first. “This book is packed with surprising stories and practical lessons,” according to promotional materials, and the book is scheduled for release on May 7.
According to Noem, she made an effort to channel the wirehaired pointer’s “aggressive personality” toward hunting in her book. Cricket, however, went “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life,” and then attacked the hens of a neighbor. The dog was then taken to a gravel pit by Noem, who shot it.
After the report caused a social media frenzy and cast doubt on her candidacy for vice president, Noem attempted to frame it as an essential (albeit darker) aspect of farm life.
Whether it was managing the ranch or being a politician, I have always taken full responsibility of my actions. Whatever the difficulty or discomfort. In his Sunday social media statement, Noem said that he was acting responsibly as a parent, dog owner, and neighbor, and that he had followed all applicable laws.
The book makes it clear that it wasn’t an easy task. The simple route, though, isn’t always the best.
