The South Dakota governor and a top pick for Trump’s vice-presidential slot, Kristi Noem, tried defending herself again after revealing in her upcoming book the killing of her family dog as well as a goat on her family farm years ago.
Noem, writes of taking the 14-month old puppy “Cricket” to a gravel pit and killing her – then deciding to also kill an “unruly” uncastrated goat.
“The second killing took two shots, says Noem, adding that when it was all over her daughter Kennedy came home from school and asked: “Hey, where’s Cricket?”
The reports of Noem shooting a rambunctious puppy—and a helpless goat—has made people across the nation, and around the world, sick and the growing backlash is fierce.
Animal rights groups in the U.S. and abroad have condemned Noem and some are questioning Trump’s pick of Noem as his possible running mate. It’s anyone’s guess as to what Trump will decide. As even his ex-wife Ivana recounted in a Vanity Fair article, “Donald was not a dog fan,” ex-wife Ivana confirmed in her memoir Raising Trump, recalling his hostility to her poodle, Chappy, who would “bark at him territorially”.
“There’s no rational and plausible excuse for Noem shooting a juvenile dog for normal puppy-like behavior,” said a statement from Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “If she is unable to handle an animal, ask a family member or a neighbor to help. If training and socializing the dog doesn’t work, then give the dog to a more caring family or to a shelter for adoption.
“Raising and caring for a dog takes patience and kindness. Tens of millions of Americans who know and love dogs have to wonder about a person who expresses hatred for a young female dog and kills her.”
Reportedly, one animal advocate wrote to police Friday asking them “to ascertain whether all the legal and ethical guidelines were followed, given the high-profile nature of the incident”.
“Governor Kristi Noem … has publicly stated that she shot and killed her own dog,” said the missive that Chaz Stevens, the chief executive officer of ESADoggy, sent to police. “This incident raises significant concerns about animal welfare and the circumstances that led to such a drastic action.”
Meanwhile, Arizona animal lovers are enraged by the reports and that Noem seems to relish, even brag about the shooting in her upcoming book.
“Talk about burning books? That’s a book I would like to burn,” said Valley retiree, Jason Williamson. Anyone, but a woman? who could brutally throw a puppy and a goat into a gravel pit and shoot them is deranged…just deranged.”
Shirley Winslow, a self-described “dog mommy” could barely take in the information when asked how she felt about the incident.
“She did what?” Winslow asked Northeast Valley News—upon reading the on the record report of the shooting of the puppy Winslow could barely convey her anger and described her feelings as “sick to my stomach”
The reports of the incident that Noem freely discusses and tries to rationalize have her using terms such as “livestock” that are aggressive need to be put down—but the claim according to some animal experts is unjustified and dogs do not fit into the livestock category as Noem has tried to say.
Outrage has grown in recent days and animal lovers and activists continue to call for an investigation into the incident even though it happened two decades ago.
“If she so callously brags about killing a puppy, God only knows what else she may have done or is doing to poor animals,” Winslow said.
