Trump VP contender Kristi Noem stands by killing her dog Cricket amid bipartisan ridicule
Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on Sunday attempted to spin a controversial anecdote about killing her puppy, revealed in her upcoming memoir, into a case for her political deftness as she vies to become Donald Trump's vice presidential pick. A Friday report from The Guardian described snippets of her memoir about her decisions to kill various family farm animals, including a 14-month-old puppy named Cricket and an unnamed goat. "I can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch," Noem wrote in an X post on Sunday. "Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle. Even if it's hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible