April 27 (UPI) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is defending her actions in killing a dog that she considered dangerous and untrainable after her own account of the incident drew scrutiny and criticism.
In Noem’s pending book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, she mentions putting down a 14-month-old wirehair pointer that attacked neighbors’ chickens and ruined a pheasant hunt.
The passage came to light this week when The Guardian obtained an advance copy of the book and published the quote, sparking a backlash against the conservative politician, who is frequently mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
As the furor mounted, Noem on Friday defended the incident, which she said was necessary.
“We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm” Noem, 52, said Friday in a post on X. “Sadly, we just had to put down three horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.”
The Guardian quoted Noem saying in the book that she “hated that dog,” calling it “less than worthless” as a hunting dog.
“I realized I had to put her down,” Noem writes, adding that it attacked and killed several chickens owned by a neighbor and nearly bit her when she tried to stop it.
Her account says she led the dog named Cricket to a gravel pit located on her family’s South Dakota farm and shot it.
She also says in the book she shot an unruly goat that was “nasty and mean,” NBC News reported.
The passage drew criticism from some in political circles, including Meghan McCain, daughter of 2008 Republican presidential candidate and former longtime U.S senator from Arizona John McCain.
“You can recover from a lot of things in politics, change the narrative, etc., but not from killing a dog,” McCain wrote in a post on X.
In a humorous but cutting take, the Democratic National Committee issued a statement purportedly coming from the “dogs of the DNC, aka the Dogmocratic Party.”
“As DNC’s canine companions, we’ve heard a lot from our owners about just how extreme and dangerous Donald Trump and his far-right MAGA allies are — but nothing could prepare us for the truly disturbing and horrifying passages Kristi Noem willingly chose to put in her new book,” the statement read.
“Our message is plain and simple: If you want elected officials who don’t brag about brutally killing their pets as part of their self-promotional book tour, then listen to our owners — and vote Democrat.”
Noem’s book is scheduled to be released in May.
