Kristi Noem defends killing her 14-month-old puppy: ‘I followed the law’

Kristi Noem has taken to social media to defend her past decision to shoot her 14-month-old hunting dog dead. The South Dakota Gov. drew massive criticism after she revealed this information in her upcoming book – No Going Back.

Kristi Noem has defended killing her 14-month-old puppy (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo)(REUTERS)

In excerpts from an advance copy of her memoir published by The Guardian, Noem confessed to killing Cricket, a “less than worthless” wirehair pointer puppy she said she “hated.” She claimed in her book that the dog had an “aggressive personality” and was “untrainable.”

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‘Often the easy way isn’t the right way’

Taking to Facebook, Noem wrote, “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.”

“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 added.

Noem went on to cite a South Dakota law that states dogs that attack and kill livestock can be killed, adding that she “decided what I did” because Cricket was “aggressive” and would bite people. “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,” she wrote. “As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy. But often the easy way isn’t the right way.”

Cricket was not the only animal Noem claimed to have killed. She admitted in the book that she also put down a “nasty and mean” male goat, describing it as “disgusting” and “rancid.”

Defending her decisions on X too, Noem wrote, “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.”