South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem defended her “tough and painful” decision to shoot and kill Cricket, a 14-month-old hunting dog, after facing criticism for eyebrow-raising revelations in her upcoming book. .
“I understand why some people would be upset about this 20-year-old story about Cricket, one of our many working dogs on our farm,” Noem wrote in a Facebook post Sunday afternoon. Told.
“As a matter of fact, South Dakota law states that any dog that attacks and kills livestock can be euthanized. Given that Cricket has shown aggressive behavior, such as biting people, I’m not sure what I’m doing. I decided.
The 52-year-old Republican, who is considered former President Donald Trump’s running mate, sparked a firestorm by saying: guardian Excerpts from an advance copy of her memoir have been published I can’t go back now.
In it, the governor wrote about shooting and killing a “worthless” wire-haired pointer puppy that he “hated” and that when his daughter Kennedy came home from school, she “looked around in confusion. ”, the story is punctuated with heartbreaking details. That day she asked, “Hey, where’s Cricket?”
In her book, Noem writes that Cricket has an “aggressive personality” and is “untrainable,” apparently unable to learn to hunt from other dogs and instead hunting farm chickens like a “trained assassin.” claimed to be attacking.
The book also includes a detailed anecdote about the time Noem killed a “nasty and mean” billy goat, which she described as “disgusting” and “stinking.”
Noem doubled down in response to controversy ×post Saturday.
“We love animals, but difficult decisions like this happen all the time on farms.Sadly, we had to let go of three horses that we had in our family for 25 years a few weeks ago. ” she wrote, including a plug for her own book at the end of the book.
The post was criticized online and was flooded with negative comments from furious dog lovers.
One user wrote: “You’re such a piece of trash.”
“‘I kill horses too’ is a strange expression,” said another.
Many users thought that this controversy might have derailed her political career.
“You just gave up your chance at VP too. Like, all the way down,” another commenter sneered.
In a Facebook post Sunday, Noem used the cricket killing as an example of her leadership and ability to make difficult decisions.
“I have never shifted my responsibilities to anyone else, whether it’s ranching or politics, even when it’s hard and painful. I’ve followed the law and been a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.” she wrote.
“As I explain in the book, it wasn’t easy. But the easy way is often not the right way.”
The post received more than 2,000 comments within two hours of being posted, the overwhelming majority of which were negative.
Noem is an avid hunter and is known for: Post photos on social media Along with the trophy animals she killed.
Noem, currently in her second term as South Dakota’s governor, served in the state House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019, representing South Dakota’s broad district.
