South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem defends her account of killing own dog in new book

South Dakota governor and Republican vice presidential contender Kristi Noem on Friday responded to a news report about a section of her forthcoming book where she describes killing her 14-month-old dog.

“We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,” she said in a post to X above a headline from The Guardian, which obtained a copy of Noem's upcoming book, “No Going Back.”

The Guardian's article describes a section of Noem's book, set for release next month, in which she recounted shooting her dog after deciding it was “less than worthless” and “untrainable.”

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In her account, Noem grabbed her gun and led the dog, named Cricket, to a gravel pit.

“It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done,” Noem wrote.

She then went on to kill a family goat, which she called “nasty and mean.” Noem also led the goat to a gravel pit, where she said her first shot wounded but did not kill the animal. She got another shell for her gun and killed the goat, according to the book.

Noem wrote that her daughter seemed confused when she came home from school, asking, “Hey, where's Cricket?”

NBC News has not obtained Noem's book or independently verified the section reported by The Guardian.

Noem was lambasted Friday on social media; some said they were “horrified,” while others posted pictures of their dogs.

The Biden campaign posted photos of the president walking with the family dog Commander, who has had numerous biting incidents, and Vice President Kamala Harris cuddling a dog.

Noem is widely viewed as a top contender to be Trump's running mate. She is in her second term as South Dakota governor, and she previously served as the state's lone representative in the U.S. House.