North Dakota Reacts To SD’s Governor’s Dog Shooting Decision

Did you hear what the Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, admitted to shooting in her upcoming new book?

The soon-to-be-released book is titled, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” which mentions that the Governor of South Dakota was forced to make a tough decision on a young hunting dog of hers, according to an article on AP.

Kristi Noem is thought to be one of the front runners to be Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 Presidential Election.

Noem is facing a backlash that could have that possibility going up in smoke.  Both politicians and dog experts are criticizing the Governor for her actions.

The incident happened two decades ago, according to her soon-to-be-released new book.

Noem owned a 14-month-old German Wirehaired Pointer.  Here's a picture of what one of these adult dogs looks like.

The German Wirehaired  Pointer is known to be a "high energy" dog according to the German Wirehaired Pointer Club.

Noem called her pup a rambunctious puppy that had very aggressive behavior and was known for biting.

In the book, Noem mentions an incident where she took her puppy out on a pheasant hunting trip with older dogs, hoping to show the young dog the ropes.  Instead, her dog named "Cricket" ended up ruining the hunt by chasing the pheasants, and then attacking a family's chickens during a stop on the way home.  Nome said her dog tried to bite her after the incident.

After the attack, Noem wrote, she took her dog Cricket to a gravel pit and shot the animal.  She also added in the book, that she shot a goat that the family owned that was mean and liked to chase her kids.

Noem writes in her book that she is disclosing this information to show her readers she is willing to make tough decisions.

As you can imagine, this has really outraged a lot of people and politicians.

The South Dakota Senate Majority Leader Reynold Nesiba said in the article the disclosure was a calculated move rather than a stupid moment.  It's believed that people witnessed this "killing" a couple of decades ago, and Noem wanted to have her put it out, rather than it coming from someone else.

I spoke to some North Dakota landowners with pet and farm animals to get their take on the situation.

They offered a different point of view.  20 plus years ago, it was fairly common for when a dog attacked another person's animal to put the attacking animal down.  Probably, not a popular answer today.

I would also add since I have not read the book personally, that it is possible publications are leaving out extenuating circumstances or even taking her words in the book out of context.

I remember growing up when one of my father's friends shot one of his hunting dogs because the animal wouldn't hunt.  I believe the dog was "gun shy" and would take off running when it heard a shot.  I know that never sat well with me.  It was a different time for sure.

This is a polarizing subject with not much middle ground.

The AP article suggests that after this admission, Kristi Noem will not be a viable running mate for Donald Trump.  I guess time will tell.