South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem defends book excerpt where she describes killing dog and goat

By Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — Vice presidential contender South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem defended actions described in her upcoming book in which she killed a dog and goat on her family farm.

According to an excerpt, which was obtained by the Guardian, Noem killed her dog Cricket because the dog was “untrainable,” “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.”

“I hated that dog,” Noem writes, according to the Guardian.

In the excerpt, Noem writes she attempted to tame the dog, who she said behaved “like a trained assassin,” with an electronic collar, but ultimately made the decision to put her down by shooting her in a gravel pit after an incident in which the dog attacked a local family’s chickens and bit her.

“It was not a pleasant job,” Noem writes, according to the Guardian, “but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done.”

Next, the Guardian quotes excerpts of the book in which Noem shoots a goat in the same manner. Noem describes the goat as “nasty and mean” and having a “disgusting, musky, rancid” smell. The goat made a habit of chasing and knocking down her kids, Noem adds.

Aiming to distinguish herself from typical politicians, Noem writes, “I guess if I were a better politician I wouldn’t tell the story here.”

Posting a picture of the Guardian article, Noem said that her actions were not unusual on a farm.

“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 ‘No Going Back,’” Noem posted Friday on X, sharing a link to her book.

Following backlash surrounding the story, Noem on Sunday issued another statement defending her actions as lawful.

“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,” Noem said in a post on X.

In her post, Noem pointed to a South Dakota law allowing for dogs that attack and kill other domestic animals to be killed.

“The fact is, South Dakota law states that 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,” Noem said.

Noem, a staunch Trump supporter, is one of several politicians whom Trump has acknowledged are on his running mate shortlist.

Earlier in April, Noem told CNN’s Dana Bash that she would support Trump even if he is convicted in the New York hush money trial.

Amid the speculation over her potential as Trump’s vice president continues, Noem would not say whether she would have certified the 2020 election if she were in the same position as former Vice President Mike Pence.

She tied for first choice in a February poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February in which attendees were asked who they’d like to see Trump pick as his running mate. Noem and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy each received 15% of votes in the straw poll.

During the conference, the South Dakota governor took a crack at those who entered the 2024 Republican primary against Trump, suggesting they got into the race for “personal benefit” and “a spotlight for a period of time.”

“I was one of the first people to endorse Donald J. Trump as president. Last year, when everyone was asking me if I was going to consider running for president, I said no. Why would you run for president if you can’t win?” Noem said.

This story has been updated with new information.

CNN’s Shania Shelton contributed to this report.

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