In No Going Back, Kristi Noem wrote that she shot Cricket, a 14-month-old female wire-haired pointer, after the dog escaped during a pheasant-hunting outing and killed several chickens. Noem described Cricket as difficult to control, “untrainable,” and “less than worthless” as a hunting dog. She said the dog then appeared ready to bite her, leading her to conclude that Cricket had to be killed.
The passage triggered backlash from animal-welfare advocates and members of Noem’s own political camp because critics saw it not as a necessary euthanasia but as the killing of a young, healthy dog that could potentially have been trained or rehomed.
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What Kristi Noem wrote about Cricket
The account appears in No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, Noem’s political memoir, published by Center Street in hardcover on May 7, 2024. The publisher lists the book at 272 pages, with ISBN-13 9781546008163, and describes it as a mixture of political argument, personal narrative, and lessons from Noem’s public career.
In the episode described in the memoir, Noem said she had acquired or raised Cricket as a hunting dog. The dog was 14 months old and was taken along on a pheasant hunt with older dogs. According to Noem’s account, Cricket was difficult to control during the outing and did not perform as she expected.
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On the drive home, Noem wrote, Cricket escaped from her vehicle near a family that kept chickens. Noem said the dog chased and killed several of the birds. She then described Cricket as turning toward her and appearing ready to bite. At that point, Noem said, she decided the dog had to be put down.
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Noem wrote that she led Cricket to a gravel pit on the property and shot her. She also characterized the dog in exceptionally severe terms, saying that she “hated that dog” and calling Cricket “untrainable,” dangerous, and “less than worthless” as a hunting dog.
Those descriptions are Noem’s account and judgments. The published reporting establishes what she wrote in the memoir; it does not independently establish that Cricket was about to bite her or that the dog was beyond rehabilitation.
Later in the same account, Noem described killing an unnamed goat on the property. That detail became part of the wider criticism of the passage, although the controversy over the dog was the central focus.
Why the passage caused such a strong reaction
The backlash came from more than Noem’s political opponents. Republican commentators and former aides to Donald Trump also condemned the story, while animal-welfare advocates argued that the circumstances described did not demonstrate that killing Cricket was the only available option.
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Critics focused especially on the dog’s age. At 14 months, Cricket was young, even though she was being used as a hunting dog. Some coverage referred to her as a puppy to emphasize that she was still immature and might have responded to additional training. The word can be misleading, however: Noem’s book presented Cricket as a young hunting dog, not as a very young household puppy.
The central alternative proposed by critics was not that the chickens’ deaths should be ignored. Rather, they argued that a dog with serious behavioral or hunting problems could have been removed from the situation, given professional training, transferred to another guardian, or rehomed. Whether any of those options would have worked for Cricket cannot be established from the memoir alone, but their availability was a major reason critics rejected Noem’s framing of the shooting as an unavoidable act.
The distinction also matters because this was not described as euthanasia for terminal illness, severe untreatable suffering, or an elderly animal. The controversy centered on Noem’s account of killing a healthy young dog after a failed hunting outing and an alleged threat.
How Noem defended the decision
Noem presented the incident as evidence of her willingness to make difficult decisions. The story was not included merely as a description of farm life: in the book’s broader political argument, she used it to reinforce an image of decisiveness, personal responsibility, and a readiness to act when circumstances become difficult.
After the excerpt became public, Noem defended the broader idea that hard decisions involving animals occur on farms. She pointed to the recent euthanasia of three older horses in her family as another example.
That comparison did not settle the criticism. Opponents said the cases were materially different: older horses being euthanized, as Noem described them, were not equivalent to a young dog being shot after failing as a hunting prospect and killing chickens. The dispute therefore concerned both the act itself and the way Noem used it to make a point about leadership.
The political timing mattered
The memoir excerpt became public in late April 2024, shortly before the book’s May 7 release. At the time, Noem was being discussed as a possible running mate for Donald Trump.
That timing turned a disturbing memoir anecdote into a national political vetting issue. Supporters could read the story as evidence that Noem was willing to take responsibility and make unpopular choices. Critics read the same passage as evidence of poor judgment, inadequate training or supervision, and a troubling understanding of what decisive leadership requires.
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The episode consequently became part of a larger assessment of Noem’s temperament and political presentation. It was not only a question about what happened to Cricket; it was also a question about why Noem chose to tell the story, how she described the animal, and what lesson she expected readers to draw from it.
The book’s other fact-checking controversy
The Cricket passage was not the only part of No Going Back to attract scrutiny. A separate anecdote in which Noem claimed to have met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was also challenged in contemporaneous reporting. Reports said the publisher planned to remove or revise that passage.
That issue should be kept separate from the Cricket account. The Kim Jong Un anecdote concerned the accuracy of a claimed political encounter; the Cricket controversy concerned Noem’s description of killing a young dog and the leadership lesson she attached to it.
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Readers who want to examine the passage in its original context can look for Kristi Noem’s memoir No Going Back. Center Street lists hardcover, ebook, and unabridged audiobook editions, along with retailer options including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop, Target, and Walmart. The audiobook is an alternate format of the memoir, not independent confirmation of the events described in it.
Reading the full chapter also provides context that short excerpts cannot: Noem’s description of the hunting trip, her account of the chickens, the alleged threat, and the way she connects the incident to her philosophy of political leadership.
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What is established—and what remains attributed
- Established by the published memoir and reporting: Noem wrote that Cricket was 14 months old, escaped near chickens, killed several birds, and was then shot by Noem at a gravel pit.
- Attributed to Noem’s account: that Cricket was dangerous, “untrainable,” and about to bite her.
- A characterization, not an objective finding: “less than worthless,” which referred to Cricket’s value as a hunting dog in Noem’s judgment.
- Not established by the researched reporting: that Noem was criminally charged, that a court found animal cruelty, or that rehoming was legally required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Cricket actually a puppy?
Cricket was 14 months old, according to Noem’s memoir. Critics used the word “puppy” to stress the dog’s youth and immaturity, but the book described her as a young wire-haired pointer being trained for hunting.
Why did Kristi Noem say she shot the dog?
According to Noem’s account, Cricket escaped during a hunting outing, killed several chickens, and then appeared ready to bite her. Noem said those circumstances led her to decide that the dog had to be killed.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchWas Kristi Noem charged with animal cruelty?
The researched reporting does not establish that Noem was criminally charged or that a court found her guilty of animal cruelty. The controversy was primarily about her account, her description of Cricket, and the judgment critics believed it demonstrated.
What is the name of Kristi Noem’s memoir?
The memoir is titled No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward. Center Street published the hardcover edition on May 7, 2024.
The Bottom Line
The controversy arose because Noem’s memoir framed the shooting of a 14-month-old dog as a necessary and instructive act of decisiveness, while critics saw the account as evidence that a young animal with behavioral problems was not given a chance at further training or rehoming. The facts of the episode should therefore be presented as Noem described them, not as an independently proven finding that Cricket was irredeemably dangerous.
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