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Canine-killing former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is being ridiculed over an online photo she posted of herself and her new hunting dog — with social-media users urging her not to off him, too.
“This poor dog is staring at the camera like he’s on death row,” wrote Tommy Vietor, a former Obama National Security Council staffer, on X — referring to the snap of Noem with the pooch.
Noem took to X on Saturday to mark the opening of pheasant hunting season, sharing a photo of herself with her dog Foster and declaring that the sport was a family tradition worth preserving.
“Pheasant hunting is part of who we are, and it’s a tradition worth passing on to our kids and grandkids,” Noem wrote.
But the post quickly drew attention for a different reason: Noem’s controversial history of shooting and killing her own family pet.
“Please don’t kill him,” users pleaded in the comments, reviving a controversy that dogged Noem in 2024 when she revealed in her memoir she had shot and killed her 14-month-old dog, Cricket.
Other users piled on, with one sharing an AI-edited version of the photo that made the dog appearing very concerned.
In her memoir, “No Going Back,” Noem described taking Cricket on a pheasant hunt, where the young dog failed to behave as expected. She wrote that Cricket killed a neighbor’s chickens and attempted to bite her when she tried to restrain the animal.
Noem ultimately took the dog to a gravel pit and shot her dead, describing Cricket as “untrainable” and dangerous.
The revelation sparked widespread outrage among animal lovers and drew national attention as Noem was being discussed as a potential running mate for President Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Noem defended her dog-killing decision at the time, arguing that it was a difficult but necessary choice on a farm and saying she was tired of politicians pretending to be something they are not.
“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old story of Cricket,” she wrote on X in April 2024 while still defending herself.
Noem led the Department of Homeland Security before leaving the position earlier this year.