Here’s a sentence we never thought we’d write:
Kristi Noem has a lot in common with David Eason.
Or at least an important commonality that we should highlight.
Eason, the estranged husband of former Teen Mom star Jenelle Evans, recently confessed to killing his family dog after it nipped his young daughter.
Now the governor of South Dakota has admitted to doing the exact same thing.
On April 26, The Guardian published an excerpt from Noem’s brand new biography, in which the vice presidential candidate looked back to about two decades ago … when she was the owner of a 14-month-old hunting dog named Cricket, who she described as having a sickly “aggressive personality.”
During a hunting trip, Cricket refused to listen to Noem, she writes.
According to Noem, after the killed dog chased some birds and killed some chickens, she realized she had to put it down.
Why not give the dog away? Or hire a trainer? Instead of taking it to the woods, shooting it and burying it in a hole?
“We love animals, but difficult decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,” Noem wrote on Twitter after the story was published.
“Unfortunately, a few weeks ago we had to give up three horses that had been in our family for 25 years.”
Meanwhile, Noem returned to social media over the weekend and attempted to defend himself in more detail, despite endless backlash from both sides of the aisle.
After previously calling her dog “less than worthless,” Noem wrote this time:
“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old story about Cricket, one of the working dogs on our ranch, in my upcoming book, No Going Back.
“The book is filled with many honest stories from my life, good days and bad days, challenges, painful decisions and lessons learned.”
The polarizing politician continued that she has learned through “her years of public service, particularly leading South Dakota through COVID,” that people want to be led by authentic individuals who are not afraid of challenges and learn lessons from the draw past.
That could be true.
But we suspect almost none of them would want to be led by someone who would murder a puppy. Point.
“I hope that everyone who reads this book understands that I am always working to make the best decisions possible for the people in my life,” Noem added, hiding behind the letter of the local law as follows:
The fact is that South Dakota law states that dogs that attack and kill livestock can be euthanized. Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior towards people by biting them, I decided what to do.”
As Donald Trump considers running for the White House alongside Noem this fall, the governor concluded:
“Whether I’m running the ranch or working in politics, I’ve never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else.
“Even if it is hard and painful. I followed the law and was a responsible parent, dog owner and neighbor.
“It was’nt easy. But often the easy way is not the right way.”