Trump VP contender Kristi Noem recalls killing her dog, goat in new book: ‘A better politician

In a rather unexpected turn of events, Kristi Noem, a potential vice-presidential pick for Donald Trump, has revealed a shocking story in her forthcoming book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.” Noem recounts the moment she decided to kill her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, after the animal exhibited aggressive behavior, attacking chickens and biting her owner. The South Dakota governor also shares a story about shooting a goat in the same manner, though the goat initially survived the first shot and required Noem to retrieve another shell to finish the job.

The dog, Cricket, a wirehair pointer, was described as having an “aggressive personality” and was deemed “less than worthless” for hunting, prompting Noem to take the drastic step of ending the dog’s life. Noem writes that she hated Cricket because the dog was untrainable, dangerous to anyone she came in contact with, and “less than worthless…as a hunting dog.” The decision to shoot Cricket came after the dog attacked a local family’s chickens, biting them to death one by one. Noem, feeling responsible, paid the family for the chickens Cricket killed and realized that she had to put Cricket down. She took Cricket to a gravel pit and shot her.