South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem suggested that President Biden’s dog should be shot. In her explosive new book, which has prompted nationwide criticism, she wrote that Biden’s dog, Commander, should suffer the same fate as her own dog, Cricket, who she shot to death on her farm.
In her book, Noem writes what she would do if she entered the White House as President and states that she would first send Commander to the same place as Cricket. In a subsequent interview, she justified her position, noting that the Bidens were forced to remove Commander from the White House because he attacked Secret Service agents. Noem asked how many times a dog has to attack people before the decision is made to end the animal’s life, and she challenged the President to provide a definitive figure.
White House records show that the President’s German Shepherd has attacked US Secret Service (USSS) personnel on at least 24 occasions. The incidents were so frequent that USSS Presidential Protective Division members were told to “be creative” to ensure their safety around the animal. An email to staff noted that the service would have to “adjust our operational tactics” whenever Commander was in the room.
The dog was sent to live elsewhere last October.
Governor Noem, meanwhile, is under increasing pressure as animal lovers lash out. Noem wrote that her animal Cricket was “untrainable,” so she took it to a gravel pit and shot it. However, experts say all dogs are trainable, and the Governor lacked patience. Others said she should have given the dog away rather than end its life.
South Dakota Democratic Senate Minority Leader Reynold Nesiba said lawmakers in the state have known for years that Noem shot a dog, but the rumor is that she did it out of anger. The Democrat suggested that Noem attempted to cover up the anger element in her book, and portray the dog as a menace, before the story became public.
