South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem issued a statement on Sunday defending her decision to shoot her 14-month-old dog Cricket, which was recounted in her upcoming book, "No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.”
“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book — No Going Back. The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned,” she said on X.
“What I learned from my years of public service, especially leading South Dakota through COVID, is people are looking for leaders who are authentic, willing to learn from the past, and don’t shy away from tough challenges,” Noem added. “My hope is anyone reading this book will have an understanding that I always work to make the best decisions I can for the people in my life.”
