What happened to Kristi Noem’s dog? South Park mocks Head of Homeland security’s puppy-gate incident
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Kristi Noem in 2025 (Image via Getty)An incident involving the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem and her puppy is once again in the news after creating a media furore last year. This time, Noem and the controversy surrounding her puppy became a part of animated satirical show, South Park’s latest episode.
Back in April 2024, Noem was touted to potentially become President Donald Trump’s running mate as Vice President. In her memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, Noem wrote about a 20-year-old incident when she shot her puppy because of her aggressive personality.
The revelation, which sparked uproar from all ends of the political spectrum, was meant by Noem to highlight her tough decision-making skills and how she can can make “difficult, messy and ugly” choices, noted Vox.
South Park’s take on the Kristi Noem incident
South Park, which is well-known for its brutal satire on current events and politics, spent a good chunk of the second episode of its 27th season satirizing Kristin Noem’s claim that she shot her puppy.
According to AZ Central, the episode, titled Got A Nut, focuses on Noem, whose face is shown as continuously melting. The episode partly uses the language with which Noem herself defended her action, and she is depicted as saying,
“I had to put my puppy down by shooting him in the face because sometimes doing what’s important means doing what’s hard.”
AZ Central notes that she goes on a rampage, and shoots all puppies in sight after delivering this dialogue. The news outlet revealed that even Superman’s dog, Krypto, features in the episode, but is shot down by Noem.
Why did Kristi Noem put down her dog?
Kristi Noem’s 14-month-old wirehair pointer, who was named Cricket, was meant to be used for hunting pheasant, according to the-then Governor of South Dakota’s book, obtained by The Guardian.
However, the politician said that the puppy, which had an “aggressive personality,” was taken on a hunt with other dogs in order to train her. As per The Guardian, Noem also used an electric collar on the puppy to calm her down to no effect.
Finally, Noem decided to put the dog down after a revelation from her neighbors while coming back from the hunt. They told her that Cricket attacked their chickens one by one, killing them like “a trained assassin." The puppy even bit Noem herself when she attempted to rein it in.
The Guardian noted that Noem wrote,
“I hated that dog…At that moment. I realised I had to put her down.”
As per the publication, Noem led Cricket to a gravel pit and shot her with her gun. Describing the incident, she wrote,
“It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done.”
After putting down the dog, Noem shot another family animal, a goat who was not neutered and frequently troubled Noem’s children, according to The Guardian.
According to Vox, Noem’s confession that she killed her family dog wasn’t met with approval. On the contrary, the incident attracted criticism from all spheres, with many wirehaired pointer experts contending that Noem should have spent more time in training the pup, which is naturally high on energy and is inadequate as a hunting dog at a young age.
Vox also noted that both Democrats and Republicans criticized Noem’s decision to put her dog down by shooting her. Noem reacted to the backlash by penning a statement on X, in which she defended her actions by writing:
“As I explained in the book, it wasn't easy. But often the easy way isn't the right way.”
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…
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) April 28, 2024TOPICS: Kristi Noem, South Park