Most Americans say South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s actions as revealed in her upcoming book — shooting the dog she “hated” in the head — were “unacceptable,” according to the latest survey from the Economist/YouGov.
Noem has come under intense criticism following the disclosure in her book that she killed her 14-month-old ranch dog Cricket, shooting it in the head.
“Cricket was a wirehair pointer, about 14 months old,” Noem wrote, describing the dog as one with an “aggressive personality.” She said she took Cricket pheasant hunting in hopes teaching it to hunt would calm the dog down. According to Noem, the dog went “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.” After that, Noem stopped to see a neighbor and claims Cricket ravaged her neighbor’s chickens, “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another.” Norm claimed the dog “whipped around to bite me” when she tried to stop the attack, and described the dog as acting like a “trained assassin,” leading her to end its life.
While she has defended her actions, attempting to spin it as a prime example of her ability to “never” pass responsibilities “to anyone else to handle,” most Americans disagree with how she handled it.
The survey asked respondents who had heard about Noem killing her dog their opinion on the matter, and 67 percent of them describe her actions as “unacceptable.” Only 15 percent view it as “acceptable,” and 18 percent remain unsure.
Further, a plurality of Republicans, 37 percent, along with a majority of independents and Democrats — 66 percent and 89 percent, respectively — describe her actions as “unacceptable.”
The survey was taken May 5-7, 2024, among 1,813 adult citizens.
Noem has continued to defend her decision, describing the dog as “extremely dangerous.”
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“It had come to us from a family who had found her way too aggressive. We were her second chance, and she was — the day she was put down was a day that she massacred livestock that were part of our neighbors. She attacked me, and it was a hard decision,” she told Sean Hannity, contending again that it is an example of the tough decisions she has had to make throughout her life.