Topline
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Wednesday defended her decision to shoot and kill her family’s 14-month-old hunting dog—a fact she disclosed in her upcoming book—and blamed “fake news” for putting the “worst spin” on the incident, which has drawn widespread public outrage and likely harmed her chances in the GOP’s vice presidential nominee race.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on Wednesday defended her decision to kill her family dog
Key Facts
In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Noem claimed the dog was “extremely dangerous” and she wanted to ensure the safety of her small children and other “small kiddos that worked around our business.”
Hannity said “dogs that are violent sometimes have to be put down” and asked Noem if there was a difference in the way “you put a dog down?”
Noem blamed the outrage on “fake news” which left out “some or most of the facts” of the story from her book and “put the worst spin on it” before urging people to buy the book to find out the truth.
The South Dakota governor insisted the 14-month-old wirehaired pointer was “a working dog…not a puppy” and it had come to her from a family that “found her way too aggressive.”
Noem said the day the dog was put down was the day the animal “massacred livestock” belonging to their neighbors and “attacked me.”
The South Dakota Governor added that farmers and ranchers expect a dog that kills livestock to be put down, adding “they know once an animal like this starts killing…just because they enjoy it…that is a very dangerous animal.”
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Crucial Quote
Noem said: “The reason it’s in the book is because this book is filled with tough, challenging decisions I’ve had to make throughout my life…The point of this story is most politicians, they will run from the truth, they will shy away and hide from making tough decisions. I don’t do either of those.”
Tangent
During the interview, Hannity attempted to draw a parallel between Noem’s dog and President Joe Biden’s German Shepherd several times. Referencing the president’s dog, Commander, Hannity said: “When all is said and done, 24 Secret Service agents were bitten by a German Shepherd, by a big dog.” The Fox News host then appeared to suggest that Biden, unlike Noem, failed to act against the dog to stop the incidents. “In that particular case, if somebody is biting people in large numbers like that, wouldn’t it…it’s a sad thing to do, but at some point doesn’t it become the responsible thing for the safety of others that you don’t allow a dog, at least around anybody else?” In October last year, the incidents led to the German Shepherd being moved out of the White House. According to CNN, Commander was now living with other members of the president’s family.
Key Background
Last week, the Guardian reported excerpts from Noem’s upcoming memoir where she talks about killing her family’s 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket. Noem wrote she determined the dog was “untrainable” after it ruined a pheasant hunt and later killed a neighbor’s chicken. “I hated that dog,” she wrote, adding it was “less than worthless…as a hunting dog”. The South Dakota Governor then decided to “put her down,” by taking Cricket to a gravel pit and shooting her. The revelation has drawn both outrage and mockery from Democrats and Republicans. The issue has also reportedly tanked Noem’s chances of getting picked as former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
Furhter Reading
Kristi Noem: I Didn’t Break The Law When I Killed Our Dog (Forbes)
