Politics is usually full of polished stories and carefully curated "relatable" moments. Then there’s South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. She decided to drop a story in her 2024 memoir, No Going Back, that left almost everyone—from die-hard conservatives to suburban dog lovers—absolutely floored.
It wasn't a story about a brave rescue or a loyal companion. It was about Cricket.
Cricket was a 14-month-old wirehair pointer. In the book, Noem describes taking the dog on a pheasant hunt to try and "calm her down" and teach her how to behave around older, more disciplined dogs. It didn’t go well. In fact, Noem wrote that Cricket was "out of her mind with excitement," chasing birds and basically ruining the entire afternoon.
On the way home, things got worse. Noem stopped to talk to a local family, and Cricket escaped the truck, went into a frenzy, and started "crunching" the family's chickens to death. When Noem finally grabbed the dog, she says Cricket "whipped around to bite" her.
That was the breaking point.
The Kristi Noem Dog Story and the Gravel Pit
The part that really stuck in people's throats wasn't just that the dog was put down. It was the way Noem described it. She didn't call a vet. She didn't try to rehome a high-energy hunting dog that clearly needed a different environment.
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She led Cricket to a gravel pit and shot her.
"I hated that dog," Noem wrote. She called the puppy "untrainable" and "less than worthless" as a hunting dog. To Noem, this was a story about being "tough" and doing the "messy and ugly" jobs that leadership requires. She actually thought this would be a badge of honor, a sign that she doesn't shy away from hard choices.
But it didn't stop with the dog.
Right after killing Cricket, Noem realized she had another "unpleasant job" to do. She had a male goat that she described as "nasty and mean." Apparently, the goat smelled bad and liked to chase her kids. So, she dragged the goat to the same gravel pit.
The first shot didn't kill him.
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The goat was wounded and suffering, so Noem had to walk back to her truck, get more shells, and come back to finish him off. All of this happened right as a school bus was dropping off her kids. Her daughter, Kennedy, reportedly walked up and asked, "Hey, where’s Cricket?"
Why This Story Backfired So Hard
Honestly, the political world is used to scandals, but "I shot my puppy in a gravel pit" is a tough one to spin. Even people who grew up on farms—people who understand that livestock sometimes has to be put down—were weirded out by the tone.
There’s a huge difference between humanely euthanizing a sick animal and shooting a 14-month-old puppy because it acted like... well, a puppy.
- The Age Factor: Dog trainers like Zak George pointed out that 14 months is peak "adolescent" behavior for a high-stamina breed like a wirehair pointer.
- The Aggression Claim: While Noem defended her actions by saying the dog was dangerous, critics argued that a single "nip" while a dog is in a high-stress state (like a chicken-killing frenzy) isn't the same as an unprovoked attack.
- The Political Miscalculation: Noem admitted in the book, "I guess if I were a better politician I wouldn't tell the story here." She was right.
Republican strategists were baffled. At the time, Noem was a frontrunner to be Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential pick. Suddenly, she was being called "Cruella de Vil" by people on her own side of the aisle. Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren, who is also from South Dakota, went on X (formerly Twitter) to say that shooting dogs isn't some "normal" part of ranch life that people should just accept.
Legal Realities and Ranch Life
Noem tried to lean on South Dakota law to justify what happened. She pointed out that under state law, a dog that kills livestock can be legally put down. And she’s right about the law existing.
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However, legal experts like those interviewed by Poynter noted that the law is usually meant for protecting your property from other people's dogs, not necessarily a justification for a "fit of anger" execution of your own pet.
The defense didn't really land. She even tried to pivot by saying she’d recently put down three horses that had been with the family for 25 years. But that felt different to people. Putting down an elderly, suffering horse is a mercy. Shooting a "picture of pure joy" (as she described Cricket’s mood during the chicken incident) felt like a lack of patience.
What We Can Learn From the Backlash
The Kristi Noem dog story is a masterclass in how not to build "authenticity." In an era where everyone is desperate for "real" politicians, Noem proved that being "real" isn't always a good thing if the reality is something people find cruel.
If you're an animal owner or just someone following the news, there are a few practical takeaways here:
- Understand Breed Needs: High-energy hunting dogs like pointers require massive amounts of stimulation. A dog "acting out" is often a sign of boredom or poor management, not a "bad" soul.
- Training vs. Euthanasia: Behavioral euthanasia is a real thing, but it’s generally a last resort after professional intervention, not a decision made in a moment of frustration.
- Know the Laws: If you live in a rural area, understand the specific statutes regarding livestock protection, but also realize that public perception of animal welfare has shifted drastically in the last 20 years.
Noem thought she was showing she had the "grit" to lead. Instead, she showed a lot of voters that her first instinct when a situation gets "messy" is to reach for a gun. Whether it actually killed her chances at the VP spot or just became a permanent stain on her brand, the story of Cricket isn't going away anytime soon.
To stay informed on how these types of stories impact public policy, you should regularly check local South Dakota legislative updates and animal welfare standards, which often shift in response to major national controversies. Knowing your local "right to farm" laws versus animal cruelty statutes is the best way to ensure you're acting within both the law and modern ethical standards.