Kristi Noem blames ‘fake news’ for outrage over shooting of dog Cricket who ‘wasn’t a puppy’ and was ‘smacked’ for killing livestock

Kristi Noem is still defending her decision to shoot and kill her 14-month-old puppy Cricket, ramping up the rhetoric about how “extremely dangerous” the dog was.

Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, South Dakota’s governor claimed it was safest to kill the dog because there were “little children” on the farm who were in danger.

Noem, 52, confessed in her upcoming book to killing her family’s farm dog while her children were at school. The clip was immediately picked up and widely viewed and shared online, essentially destroying the Republican’s chances of being elected as Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate.

In her latest defense of her actions, Noem claimed the Wirehaired Pointer was “a working dog… not a puppy.”

She told Hannity that Cricket came to her from another family who “thought she was way too aggressive.”

Noem said the dog had “slaughtered livestock” and “attacked me.” Hannity agreed with Noem that ‘violent dogs sometimes need to be put down’

“The reason it’s in the book is because this book is full of difficult, challenging decisions that I’ve had to make my entire life,” the governor explained when asked why she decided to bring the controversial story to light .

She added: “The point of this story is that most politicians will run from the truth, withdraw and hide from making difficult decisions. I don’t do either.’

The excerpt about Cricket’s murder was first published by The Guardian last week. Noem wrote in her book that the puppy was “untrainable” and had killed the neighbor’s chicken.

“I hated that dog,” she wrote, adding that Cricket “wasn’t that worthless… as a hunting dog.”

Noem wrote about how she decided to “put her down” by taking Cricket to a gravel pit and shooting her.

Many animal rights activists argue that it is best to rehome or transfer the dog to a shelter where there may be resources to properly train Cricket and give her to a family without children or livestock.

An excerpt published from Noem’s upcoming book reveals that the governor ‘put down’ their family dog ​​by taking her to a gravel pit and shooting her while the children were at school

Noem claims the outrage over Cricket’s story was fueled by “fake news,” which she claims left out “some or most facts” and “put the worst spin on them.”

She urged people to buy the book themselves to read the whole story.

The book No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward will hit shelves on May 7, but has already sparked much discussion and controversy surrounding the governor of South Dakota.