Politicians and dog experts are criticizing South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem after she wrote in a new book about killing an unruly puppy. The story — and the vilification she has received on social media — has some wondering whether she is still a viable potential running mate for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Experts who work with hunting dogs like Noem’s said she should have trained — not killed — the pup, or found other options if the dog was out of control.
Noem has tried to reframe the two-decade-old story as an example of her willingness to make tough decisions. She wrote on social media that the 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket showed aggressive behavior by biting.
“As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy,” she said on X. “But often the easy way is not the right way.”
Still, Democrats and even some conservatives have been critical.
“This story is not landing. It is not a facet of rural life or ranching to shoot dogs,” conservative commentator Tomi Lahrenco posted online.
Several posters have depicted Noem as Cruella de Vil, the villain from the Disney classic “101 Dalmatians.” One meme features a series of dogs offering looks of terror.
“I’m not sure what she did was more stupid: the fact that she murdered the dog or the fact that she was stupid enough to publish it in a book,” said Joan Payton of the German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America. The club itself described the breed as “high energy” and said that Noem was very impatient and that the use of a shock collar for training was a failure.
But South Dakota Democratic Senate Minority Leader Reynold Nesiba called the disclosure more calculated than stupid. He said the story has circulated among lawmakers for years that Noem killed a dog in a “fit of rage” and that there were witnesses. He speculated that this would be released now because Noem was being considered as a vice presidential candidate.
“She knew this was a political vulnerability and needed to disclose it before it emerged somewhere else,” he said. “Why else would she write about this?”
In her soon-to-be-released book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” of which The Guardian obtained a pre-release copy, Noem writes that she took Cricket on a road trip bird hunting with older dogs in hopes of calming the wild little dog. Instead, Cricket chased pheasants, attacked a family’s chickens during a stop on the way home, and then “turned around to bite me,” she wrote.
Noem’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about whether the dog actually bit her or just tried to do so, or whether Noem had to seek medical treatment. The book’s publisher refused to provide the AP with an advance copy of the book.
Then, Noem wrote, she took Cricket to a gravel pit and killed her. She said she also shot a goat the family owned, saying it was bad and liked to chase her children.
The response to the story was quick: “Post a photo with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting him and throwing him into the gravel. I’ll get started,” Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz posted on X. The post included a photo of him spoon-feeding his Labrador mix named Scout ice cream.
President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign added a photo of the president walking on the White House lawn with one of his three German shepherds. Two of Biden’s dogs, Major and Commander, were removed after aggressive behavior, including toward White House and Secret Service personnel. The oldest, Champ, died.
Democrat Hillary Clinton reposted a 2021 comment in which she warned: “Don’t vote for anyone you wouldn’t trust your dog with.” She added on Monday: “It’s still true.”
Conservative political commentator Michael Knowles said on his titular podcast that while Noem could have handled the situation differently, “there is nothing wrong with a human being killing an animal humanely.” He later added: “Fifty years ago, this political story would not have made anyone in most of America blink. And the fact that this happens today says something, not about the change in the morality of slaughtering a farm animal, but about the change in the politics of America.”
He later said the story is “extremely stupid and insignificant” because Noem has no chance of being chosen as Trump’s running mate.
Payton, who is a delegate for the American Kennel Club and lives in Bakersfield, California, said the situation was a mess from start to finish.
“It was a little dog with no experience, obviously no training,” she said. “If you know a little bit about a bird dog, you don’t take a 14-month-old child out with trained adult dogs and expect them to perform well. It is not how it works.”
The club itself said that pups learn best by hunting individually with their owners, rather than with other dogs.
When problems arose, she should have called the breeder, Payton said, or contacted rescue organizations that find new homes for the breed.
Among these groups is the National German Wirehaired Pointer Rescue, which called on Noem in a Facebook post to take responsibility for her “horrible decision” and to educate the public that there are more humane solutions.
“Sporting breeds are bred with hunting/bird instincts, but it takes training and effort to have a working field dog,” the group’s Board of Directors wrote in the post.
Payton described Cricket as nothing more than “a baby,” saying the breed is not physically mature until 2 years of age and is not fully trained at 3 to 5 years of age.
“This was someone I thought was a good lady until now,” she said. “She was someone I would have voted for. But I think she may have shot herself in the foot.”
