Governor Noem is trying to explain why she killed her dog after an excerpt from her forthcoming book detailed how she executed the misbehaving animal, leading to outrage online. She says killing the dog was just one of her many “responsibilities” as a rancher.

In her book, which was shared with the Guardian, Ms. Noem explains that 20 years ago, she had a 14-month old wirehair pointer named Cricket who was incapable of behaving. The dog ruined a hunt for Ms. Noem and later killed her neighbor’s chickens. She then took the dog to a gravel pit and shot it. 

The reaction online was immediate, a joke was told at the White House Correspondents Dinner about the killing, and even PETA condemned the governor. 

After attempting to explain away the incident on Friday following the furor, she returned to social media Sunday to give it another shot. She said in a post to X that she is simply a woman who does what needs to be done, no matter how unsavory it may be. 

“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book,” the governor says. “The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned.”

“What I learned from my years of public service, especially leading South Dakota through COVID, is people are looking for leaders who are authentic, willing to learn from the past, and don’t shy away from tough challenges,” she continues. 

Ms. Noem notes in her home state of South Dakota, animals can be killed if they attack livestock, as Cricket did with Ms. Noem’s neighbor’s chickens. “Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did,” she explained. 

The governor has been floated as a potential running mate for President Trump this year after becoming a conservative celebrity during the Covid pandemic. She has styled herself a champion of women’s and girls’ sports and the anti-abortion rights movement.

“Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle. Even if it’s hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor,” she says.