Trump VP Contender Kristi Noem Stirs Controversy Defending Dog's Brutal Killing On Family Farm: 'It Had To Be Done'

A potential running mate for Donald Trump is facing criticism for recounting the controversial story of her dog’s death in her memoir.

In her forthcoming memoir, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem called her dog Cricket “untrainable” and “dangerous,” reported BBC.

Noem said she ultimately decided to euthanize Cricket and led the dog to a gravel pit where she shot her.

“It was not a pleasant job,” she wrote. “But it had to be done.”

The memoir, titled “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” is due for release on May 7.

According to a separate report by Reuters, Noem described Cricket as disrupting a hunt, later attacking local chickens, and behaving like a “trained assassin,” posing a danger to anyone she encountered.

The Democratic National Committee reacted strongly to the excerpts, labeling them “horrifying” and “disturbing,” and sought to leverage them in framing an argument against Noem for the 2024 election.

In a statement online, the committee said, “If you want elected officials who don’t brag about brutally killing their pets… vote Democrat,” according to BBC.

Meghan McCain, the daughter of 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain, also said in response, “You can recover from a lot of things in politics, change the narrative etc – but not from killing a dog.”

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday, Noem said, “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.”

Noem, who left college at 22 to manage her family farm, recounted in her memoir attempting to train Cricket, then a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, by bringing her along on a pheasant hunt with older dogs.

Despite efforts to discipline her, including the use of an electronic collar, Noem recounted that Cricket’s behavior persisted. On their way home from the hunt, Cricket escaped and proceeded to attack a local family’s chickens, killing them with a single bite each.

The situation prompted Noem to recognize that another unpleasant task awaited that day: disposing of a male goat her family owned. 

Describing the goat as “nasty and mean” and a threat to her young children, she detailed shooting the goat in a similar manner to Cricket. However, the goat survived the first bullet, requiring her to return to her truck for another shell, she noted in her book, according to BBC.

Colleen O’Brien, senior director at PETA, condemned Noem’s choice to euthanize the dog. She criticized the potential vice presidential candidate for allowing “this rambunctious puppy loose on chickens and then punishing her by deciding to personally blow her brains out rather than attempting to train her or find a more responsible guardian who would provide her with a proper home,” Reuters noted.

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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