“No Going Back”: Kristi Noem’s Controversial Dog-and-Goat Euthanasia Story Sparks Criticism

Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who is being considered as a potential running mate by former President Donald Trump, shares disturbing anecdotes in her new book titled “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.” One such story involves the killing of her 14-month-old puppy named Cricket. After a pheasant hunting trip, the dog killed some chickens belonging to another family and bit Noem when she tried to stop it. She describes herself as doing anything “messy and ugly” in politics or otherwise after deciding that this behavior was necessary with dogs too. In her book, she writes about taking Cricket to a gravel pit and shooting the dog, adding bizarrely that killing Cricket made her decide to also kill her goat because it stunk and behaved “nasty and mean.” Although construction workers nearby saw what happened but returned promptly to work after witnessing Noem’s actions. Her daughter later asked about Cricket’s whereabouts, which led Noem to admit that she had put the dog down in a gravel pit along with her goat because of its unpleasant behavior. Critics have called out Kristi Noem as “trash” for killing puppies due to insufficient training rather than being unlucky chicken sharpshooters.”
To counter accusations that her recollections were politically incorrect, Governor Noem confirmed the story in a tweet on Friday and advertised further anecdotes from her book. The Washington Examiner has reached out for comment.