South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) doubled down after revealing in her new book that she shot dead her own dog, with her latest comments prompting a second wave of backlash.
“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. “The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned.”
She argued that, under South Dakota law, 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,” she said. “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,” she added.
In her new book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward,” Noem recalls shooting a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer on her ranch, the Guardian reported Friday after obtaining an advance copy.
Noem, a contender to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate, said she “hated” Cricket, describing the pup as “untrainable,” “dangerous” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.”
She said she shot the animal in a gravel pit.
“It was not a pleasant job,” she wrote. “But it had to be done.”
She faced fierce criticism over the weekend in regard to the shocking anecdote.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, on Saturday shared an image of his dog enjoying a treat, captioned, “Post a picture with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. I’ll start.”
“In New York we love our puppies,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) tweeted.
Sunday’s non-apology seemed to only stoke the flames.
“If you can’t express sincere regret about blowing a puppy’s brains out, you should simply be grateful the statute of limitations has run, and just shut up about it,” conservative attorney George Conway posted.
Conservative commentator Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), said Noem’s story “is something out of a horror movie.”
“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,” she wrote.
See some of the other commentary below.
Correction: A previous version of this article said the dog was 14 years old. It was 14 months old.