Politicians and dog experts are criticizing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem after she wrote in a new book about killing a rambunctious puppy. The story — and the vilification she received on social media — has some wondering whether she’s still a viable potential running mate for presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Experts who work with hunting dogs like Noem’s said she should have trained — not killed — the pup, or found other options if the dog was out of control.
Noem has tried to reframe the story from two decades ago as an example of her willingness to make tough decisions. She wrote on social media that the 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket had shown aggressive behavior by biting.
“As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy,” she said on X. “But often the easy way isn’t the right way.”
Still, Democrats and even some conservatives have been critical.
Millions of animals are killed less humanely every day for food. Why are people so worked up about this one?
edit: I guess it’s only ok to support the inhumane murder of animals if you don’t know them and want to eat them. I understand now.
It’s a man-bites-dog story, both figuratively and literally.
People being cruel to animals as part of the food chain? It’s a day that ends in “y”
A potential vice president of the United States killed a dog because she didn’t like it? That’s newsworthy.
It might focus attention on animal cruelty.
Side note: Joe Biden very clearly likes his dogs, and treats them perhaps a little too well. Donald Trump famously doesn’t have any pets, and uses euphemisms like “…like a dog” to invoke cruelty. Make of that what you will.
I’d say he treats them way too well considering it took him quite some time to choose between keeping his dogs in the White House and not endangering the people whose job it is to save his life. I’m sure his dogs are very sweet and loyal to him. I have a dog who is very sweet and loyal to me and my family… but I wouldn’t let her wander around the White House if I was in charge because I know she’d do exactly what they did. Sucks for him and for them that he has to leave them in his non-presidential home, but it was just a bad idea to keep them with him.
But I’d still put someone who loves dogs and/or cats over someone who hates both.
I don’t disagree, but do love the mental image of Secret Service members trying to fend off a German shepherd without hurting it because it’s the president’s dog, walking around on eggshells in case they accidentally piss it off.
I have to admit, that’s pretty funny.
I like Joe Biden’s dogs and wish they’d bite more secret service members.
I don’t know if that’s the right outlook. People should be worked up about this, because killing a member of your family is seriously fucked up. They just also should be worked up about all the other animals routinely murdered daily, because that’s seriously fucked up.
You’d have a point if she was raising dogs for slaughter, but there’s an extra layer of sociopathy to kill a nonhuman member of your own family.
What I’ve seen poking around other places is that it would be viewed as, if nothing else, “a waste of an animal.” She went straight from “training is going poorly” to “this thing, which by the way my children have named and expect to live another decade or more, has to die, now, by my hand, in sight of people who had no choice but to be there, and regardless of whatever utility the dog still has to my household or the world.” Throw in the emotional bond that so readily forms between people and companion animals, even “working” ones, and it’s doubly disturbing.
There are legitimate moral arguments about eating meat, and if that’s acceptable then about how the animals are treated while alive (full disclosure, I eat meat), but take your wins where you can get them: everybody agrees Kristi Noem is fucked up. Even dog-hating Trump, who has a serious “suburban mom” problem to mitigate, will probably have to reluctantly move on.
Your edit makes you sound like a pompous buffoon
I am a pompous buffoon, so that checks out.