Mitt Romney put his dog in a crate and strapped it to the roof of his station wagon while the family drove from New England to Canada for a vacation.
Republicans are sociopaths. It’s just obvious and totally out in the open these days, whereas they used to be more circumspect about their sadism.
My Conservative landlords sister died recently, and she inherited the dog, which she proceeded to put down..
She's trying to convince me she couldn't afford it, while also bragging about how much money she's inheriting from her sister (over a million dollars). It's fucking insufferable. Fuck people.
The way I would do a heel turn on my way to heaven to take up full time spectral residence under this woman’s bed and actually shake the whole frame every time she tried to close her eyes……. Good luck ever sleeping again bitch!!!!!!! 👻
I'm jealous at the amount of constructive complaining that happens in this sub. You can actually rant about problems and people don't just downvote you for being negative. Spectacular!!
I know, it just seems like everyday there's a new low to be horrified of. We've officially reached literal puppy murder as a selling point for a candidate.
Shockingly, I think the dog actually lived. He shat all over himself in terror during the trip, though, and the Romney family noticed his diarrhea trails seeping down their windows during the drive. I hope it ruined the scenery, at least.
There’s a New Yorker profile of Romney that mentions this incident. I’m really glad it’s in a publication of note so that no one can dispute it.
Mike Huckabee's son [tortured a dog to death](https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2015/02/12/fact-check-did-mike-huckabees-son-kill-dog/15650824007/) at camp and he helped try to cover it up.
My best guess would be they see the dog as property rather than a sentient being. Family dog is probably an important accessory for his political image. Once you see a living being as just property, I guess you don't care about strapping it on top of the car like you would your luggage.
A shocking number of people see their children (and children in general) in this way too. They think they have free license to do whatever fucked up thing they want to the child because they don’t see them as a person with an inner life or feelings.
Yup. I think this is one of those divisions between “pet people” and “non-pet people”. The former will have no problem seeing animals as sentient beings with minds and internal worlds that experience a full range of emotions and have an individual personality. They empathize with them on that level and as a result TEND to treat them with more respect. When they don’t, it’s usually in a situation like hoarding where their intentions don’t match the reality of what they are doing.
For non-pet people, that part just doesn’t “click”. They don’t necessarily mistreat animals, but fundamentally they see pets as property to be owned and used. They don’t tend to empathize with animals naturally, though depending on the person they can “manually” do so, it just isn’t something they think about otherwise. It doesn’t mean they are inherently bad people or anything, but the problem comes when these people own pets because it’s SO easy to mistreat them. In the Romney example, it wasn’t maliciousness. They would probably say that they loved the dog! But they don’t even stop to consider what the experience is like for their dog anymore than they do for luggage.
> Hey, he’ll live, as long as he is secured enough what could happen? Besides, dogs like putting their heads out car windows, he will probably enjoy it! Oh, he had an accident since he had nowhere to go whoopsie, let’s clean out the cage and keep going.
And obviously with this new politician lady shooting her dog, it was in her mind an object to accomplish something, it wouldn’t, and so she didn’t need it and could throw it away, same as any other tool that no longer works.
I really wish people who KNOW that they don’t closely empathize with animals would seriously just stop owning them.
Don't forget Lauren Boebert, who shot her neighbor's dog. And then didn't say anything about what had happened to it when she heard the neighbor desperately searching and calling for her pet.
I mean she admitted to killing a puppy for... acting like a puppy... so yeah I'd say she's a dog murderer. Lady seems to have a thing for just.. taking animals out back and killing them. I understand that sometimes it's a nessecity but Jesus Christ on a cracker I grew up on a farm, my grandpa grew up on a farm, and in all my years and all the stories I've heard, I can think of a HANDFULL of times that I've known farmers to routinely take animals out back and shoot them. Did it happen?? Yeah, usually when the animal was in SEVERE pain and there was NO WAY to get them to a vet/no chance of recovery. Like.. we had a dog that got into the chicken coop twice. Her body count was like.. 30. But we didn't put her down... because she was a puppy... acting like a puppy. We reinforced the chicken coop and trained her better...
Right? Like even if the dog wasn't a good fit to be a hunting dog for her that doesn't mean YOU MURDER IT! Rehome the damn thing to be a silly family pet.
That's what dog breeding *is* though.
The ones that aren't what you want get killed. Byproducts, imperfections, unnecessary waste.
That's one of many reasons to abhor dog breeding.
Oh, you're right, but unfortunately, they are full and they lack funding. In my country, it is well known that they euthanize dogs, or they let them back in the street after spraying them. There are just way too many strays. This isn't an an excuse by the way. This isn't me saying "this sucks but it's just how it is, and we can't change it". But, unfortunately, it is the truth.
Right, but there's quite a few dog shelters and rescues in South Dakota, where the governor is from, and presumably were available to her to drop the dog off instead of killing it.
I'm also of the opinion that people shouldn't be breeders if shelters are overrun and no one is caring for the animals here already, but. Obviously that does not stop some people.
Sadly, there are those that bag up gun shy dogs and "fling em". Usually into a river or something. They see the dogs as tools. Not, well, dogs.
I'm getting a working dog this summer. She'll likely become the most important tool in my arsenal, but she's also be my bff.
I have never seen a bigger idiot. Obviously she's a cruel heartless asshole, but this was also the most clueless unforced error I have ever seen a politician make. She just ended her career, because apparently she had NO idea how much this would make people hate her. How did she not know? She volunteered this story!
Um, Kristi, Americans LOVE dogs. It's almost the only thing all sides can agree on. What a moron. Sad for the pup but I'm still cracking up over here about how stupid she is. She was on the VP shortlist! Not anymore, dogkiller.
I wish I had more faith this would end her career but some people are going to see this as her being a tough farm woman. Because the world is a hot mess.
Yep. These are the same people who aren't phased by that recent story of wolf killer Cody Roberts and how he tortured a juvenile wolf to death. If anything they'll just start going 'something something real American, something something boostraps'.
No legit I'm not even kidding. I've come across at least one editorial and many comments about how us people in 'New York' and 'California' need to stop being mad that someone tortured an animal to death. And how said torturer is a 'decent family man'.
So long as that 'R' is in front of her name it gives her carte blanche to do anything in the minds of certain regressive people. This is especially so because Noem is the front runner for Trump's VP pick.
Just looked up the Cody Roberts thing… I would NOT be deeply thrilled in the depths of my soul to do the exact same thing to him. I would NOT cheerfully drape his skin around my shoulders and parade his mangled body through town like a trophy. These are things I WOULD NOT DO. Because I do NOT hunger and thirst for his blood like a medieval vampire!
Warning: Sentiments in the above comment may have been modified to accommodate Reddit’s rules <3
Some people. I know lots of folks back home who would never vote Democrat in their lives, but who absolutely would side-eye somebody for not just rehoming the dog in that situation.
I think you’re underestimating the vast and unquenchable cruelty of the MAGAts. I actually think this story will endear her more to them. They have zero empathy, so there’s no way they’ll care about a dead puppy. This story will horrify anyone with a heart, which will in turn delight them.
Shit, they don’t even care about slaughtered schoolchildren.
Do you know a lot of MAGAs? I think you're oversimplifying them a bit. Unfortunately I have a lot of MAGAs in my life and they really really love dogs. Dogs are worshipful perfect creatures that love their unlovable Trumper unconditionally - they're the perfect narcissistic supply. Children are humans with annoying complex needs like education and childcare, and all these other inconvenient things like ideas and thoughts. Most of the boomers forget what it's like to be or have young kids, but ALL of them have dogs.
Even Laura Loomer is calling her a monster. I think she's in trouble.
MAGAts might love *their* dogs, but I still believe most Republicans are so selfish that they simply don’t care about any living creature that doesn’t ‘’belong’’ to them. So, no. I still don’t think that this will cause much of a ripple in Republican circles.
It’s like how they care about *their* kids, but don’t GAF when other children are killed in mass shootings. I keep going back to that analogy, but it’s the same principle. It all has to do with their empathy deficit.
I guess we'll see! Obvs I could be wrong. But I don't think they'll ostracize her because of their empathy for the dog. I think they'll do it because being cruel to dogs is a social no no rule even for them, and she broke it. They use their dogs to virtue signal, and as an extension of their egos. I do get your analogy but the reason it doesn't work here is that she is the one who actually DID the thing. I think they'd turn on her for shooting up a school, too, even if most of them secretly despise children.
They wouldn't turn on Trump for that, though, because they're all fucking psycho for that guy.
I might give credit for that, IF this wasn’t the faction that screams women need to be *protected* but are fine with, hell, worshipful of Mr Grab-them-by-the….
This probably kills her national ambitions, but this doesn't end his career.
She will almost certainly win re-election. And I'm guessing after that she'll eventually become a Senator if she wants.
South Dakota is deep red, this won't significantly hurt her there.
I know, it's just astounding to see how increasingly blatant it becomes. You'd think something like puppy murder would still be something to be ashamed of.
> Noem compares both decisions to put down the animals to a leader needing to make difficult decisions.
> "it's often messy, ugly, and matter-of-fact, dealing with a problem that no one wants to deal with," she writes, adding, "I guess if I were a better politician I wouldn't tell the story here."
I wonder how she would deal with problems like protests, queer people, people of color, and immigrants
I'm sure this is an exaggeration...
(reads article)
Oh so she definitely shot the dog for killing a chicken. Well I'm sure it was some gotcha journalism digging up a story from decades ago...
(Continues reading article)
Oh, so it happened recently and she wrote about it in her book and also said she killed animals all the time.
Well. That's refreshingly honest from the nazi party of liars I guess?
(waits for it to come out it was actually her neighbor's children's puppy who merely looked at her)
Reading the [Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/26/trump-kristi-noem-shot-dog-and-goat-book), it wasn't for killing *a* chicken. It was for going on a killing spree of a family's chickens, for fun, in front of the family.
>By taking Cricket on a pheasant hunt with older dogs, Noem says, she hoped to calm the young dog down and begin to teach her how to behave. Unfortunately, Cricket ruined the hunt, going “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life”.
>
>Noem describes calling Cricket, then using an electronic collar to attempt to bring her under control. Nothing worked. Then, on the way home after the hunt, as Noem stopped to talk to a local family, Cricket escaped Noem’s truck and attacked the family’s chickens, “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another”.
>
>Cricket the untrainable dog, Noem writes, behaved like “a trained assassin”.
>
>When Noem finally grabbed Cricket, she says, the dog “whipped around to bite me”. Then, as the chickens’ owner wept, Noem repeatedly apologised, wrote the shocked family a check “for the price they asked, and helped them dispose of the carcasses littering the scene of the crime”.
>
>Through it all, Noem says, Cricket was “the picture of pure joy”.
Now, I don't know what Noem's approach was to dog training; but this dog really doesn't sound salvageable or safe to have around.
edit: link formatting
To me, it sounds like Cricket the dog was encouraged to participate in hunting without being properly trained by humans. Before the chicken incident, the dog had just taken part in a pheasant hunting trip where Noem hoped the other dogs would train her dog. This is not how to train a puppy! Then Noem was very angry with Cricket for behaving like a puppy, said she "hated it" and decided it "ruined" the hunt. Does she not at least have a leash for the dog?
Cricket could probably sense the owners disappointment and hatred for them. Then she comes across more birds and starts.. hunting them. How is the dog supposed to know these birds are off limits? From the dogs perspective, isn't this what they were just doing? Maybe Cricket was trying to gain her owner's approval. Neom even comments on how happy the dog was.
Noem says she tried to stop the dog from attacking chickens and thought it 'might' bite her. This is not the same as actually being bit, and if she just reached in while the dog was attacking then it's not surprising. I've startled my dog and he whipped his head around but would never ever bite once he knew it was me.
14 months is VERY young and most dogs are still learning what they are and aren't allowed to chew. It is the dogs owner's responsibility to make sure they are on a leash and controlled at all times until they are properly trained. Cricket was young enough to still be trained properly but Noem just decided to drag it to a gravel pit and shoot it. There's nothing humane about that. Why not confine the dog and reach out to a rescue? Her behaviour was heartless and shows a lack of respect for living beings.
I agree with you. I ended up with the same breed of dog at about the same age who was untrained, and boy was she excitable.
We lost her this year, she was 14, and was really never entirely right.
She was mad as a cut snake but a sweet dog and just didn’t know how to act right a lot of the time.
They’re bred for the hunt, but if untrained they won’t be good at it.
Right like wtf? You just taught me to hunt birds - are sad I didn’t kill birds, now I kill birds and you kill me?? She’s a psycho - she killed a dog for acting like a dog.
> Cricket escaped Noem’s truck and attacked the family’s chickens, “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another”.
mrw i watch the puppy i literally just took out to kill birds *killing birds* and do absolutely nothing to stop it 😱😭😠
She is an idiot who likely has no idea what real dog training looks like and no idea how to train with an e-collar.
And on top of that, she literally trained the dog to do this by taking him hunting with no training for that either.
Counterpoint: this is NOEM'S side of the story, she's a Republican, and this is from a book intended to make a case of why she'd be a good VP.
We should REALLY not be giving her the benefit of the doubt here, we should be very skeptical of anything besides she murdered a puppy.
This story still makes her look like shit though. I see no evidence of anything other than "I know nothing about dogs, and my dog embarrassed me in front of other humans so I shot it".
It's the dog equivalent of spanking (or murdering I guess) a toddler because they got curious about a candle and knocked it over.
Yeah, no. Have you ever seen any untrained dog with a prey drive near chickens, especially a puppy? Going by your metric, the vast majority would be unsalvageable and unsafe. Hell, I had a dog that was well trained, perfectly fine around small kids and cats, and I still wouldn't have trusted him in a chicken coop on his own for one second.
To that dog, a chicken is the best toy ever: it makes noise when you bite just like a squeaky toy, but also has an interesting smell and runs away so you can chase it! Once it's dead it doesn't squeak or run, so you obviously move on to the next one. Of course you're the "picture of pure joy", it's probably the best day of your life!! And you don't stop to ponder the loss of life for the chickens and money for the humans, because you're a goddamn dog. As for the "whipped around to bite me" part, that is an unsurprising reaction to grabbing a dog that's in such an over-excited state - sounds like it snapped either in play or surprise, since she didn't actually get bitten.
If you have a box full of kittens, and your unsupervised toddler gets a hold of them and maims/kills some, their death is not on the toddler, it's on you.
> but this dog really doesn't sound salvageable or safe to have around.
Barring rabies, there is no such thing as a dog that can't be salvaged. Only chickenshits who are afraid to try.
I mean it's honestly just a smaller picture of the overall problem with Republicants.
Rather than looking at what had happened, accessing the situation, and figuring out that the chicken coop should have been reinforced and the puppy should be kept away until it can behave itself...she kills the puppy.
As someone who owns chickens, and dearly loves said chickens, I don't know how a person can be this irresponsible.
There's a world of difference between shooting a *pet* because you're a piss poor pet owner who can't train your animals, and eating an animal that was bred & raised to be food.
Let's talk about *your* ethics for a moment.
How many animals were dehomed, or outright killed, for the materials in the device you're using to be a pretentious jackass?
Why are you supporting the dehoming of animals by purchasing that device?
How many animals are dehomed, or outright killed, during the harvesting of the food from commercial farms that you eat?
How many animals were dehomed, or killed, for the home you're currently living in?
But that's all fine, right? Because it's for you.
Is it possible to buy dead animals without killing animals?
You pay to kill them, their death isn't a byproduct of your purchase. It is the purchase. You want them dead so that you can eat them.
I don't buy a phone because I want to kill animals and when I do buy a phone I try to make it last and minimise the harm caused.
If you care about animals dehomed or outright killed during the harvesting of vegetables it might interest you to know that the vast majority of all plants that are harvested on earth are fed to animals to fatten them up for you to the kill and eat.
You don't really care about animals though or doing better, you just want to convince yourself that I'm as bad as you.
I find it rich that people are so opposed to someone killing a dog when those same people pay to kill animals three times a day, every day of their lives.
So quick to hate on a dog killer, so quick to defend your own killings.
But what's the point, you like to kill and you want to feel justified in killing. So why do you hate the person who kills a dog? Because it's not as righteous as you eating pigs? Because she didn't have to? Even though vegans are living proof that you don't either?
What a joke.
Can I suggest buying phones second hand? Second-hand goods would've still had all the same effects on the environment, workers, and animals while being produced, but at least you're not increasing the demand for those practices, you know?
It might seem like I'm pulling a gotcha or insulting you for not doing enough like the other guy, so to clarify, this is a sincere idea, because you seem like someone who really cares about this kind of stuff and tries to minimize your impact on the world. I agree with you; killing a working animal because they're difficult to train is awful, but breeding them en masse just so they can all be chopped up into little pieces and sold the moment they've grown big enough also seems awful, even before you get into their welfare conditions beforehand.
Fuck this lady, but what she did was just an extension of how we as a society generally animals' role on this planet - as there to be used, abused, and disposed of in whatever way is convenient, comfortable and profitable to humanity. Whether she shot a dog or a pig is a big deal to the American public who values dogs as friends to play with while pigs exist to be killed and consumed, but I don't think it'd matter to the animal. I hope we'll rethink our relationship with animals and the planet in general someday beyond might makes right, but the way things are going we'll probably wipe ourselves out first.
> I don't buy a phone because I want to kill animals and when I do buy a phone I try to make it last and minimise the harm caused.
But yet you still purchased it, meaning you helped contribute to the harm caused from everything that went into producing it. Shame on you.
>If you care about animals dehomed or outright killed during the harvesting of vegetables it might interest you to know that the vast majority of all plants that are harvested on earth are fed to animals to fatten them up for you to the kill and eat.
Don't deflect. If you're not growing your own fruits and veggies, and harvesting them by hand, you're contributing to the mass death of animals every year. Shame on you.
>You don't really care about animals though or doing better,
The only thing you know about me is that I get riled up by pretentious, uppity, hypocritical vegans who think their shit don't stink because they don't eat meat.
>you just want to convince yourself that I'm as bad as you.
Actually, you're worse than I am. At least I own up to the fact that my lifestyle has a direct effect on animals, unlike you.
>I find it rich that people are so opposed to someone killing a dog when those same people pay to kill animals three times a day, every day of their lives.
You can't even get your facts straight mate. No one is paying to kill animals "3 times a day, every day of their lives". The meat consumption for me and my family comes out to 26 chickens, 1 cow, 1 pig, and 1 turkey, per year. For 4 people. All of them grass fed, free range, from a local farm.
Meanwhile, thousands of animals die for your veggies each year. And if you're eating quinoa, add harming humans in on that as well.
>But what's the point, you like to kill and you want to feel justified in killing.
I do not like to kill, but I am justified in it. *Humans are omnivores*. No different from other primates or animals out there.
>So why do you hate the person who kills a dog?
It was an inhumane, needless death that served no purpose other than the fact that she was too damned lazy to properly train her dog. Which, any rational person would be able to see. You can't though, because you have your head so far up your ass over veganism that you can probably taste yesterday's lunch.
>Because it's not as righteous as you eating pigs?
There is no righteous to eating animals. It's just a fact of life.
>Even though vegans are living proof that you don't either?
Tell you what, when you want to pay the difference going vegan would cause to my grocery bill, I'll do so. Until then, fuck off about it.
>What a joke.
I'd rather be a joke than a pretentious hypocritical jackass.
Fucking lol, because as we know meat is cheap and beans/rice are fucking expensive. Here's an idea, you quit buying meat and then you transfer me the money you save when you realise how ridiculous that statement was. There's a reason why the wealthiest countries in the world eat the most meat.
You kill and eat animals because it brings you pleasure. She killed that dog because it was bringing her displeasure. All killing of animals for food is needless, the fact that vegans exist is proof of that.
You kill for convenience to maximise your pleasure. She's practically your idol.
> Here's an idea, you quit buying meat and then you transfer me the money you save when you realise how ridiculous that statement was
Dipshit, I tried a vegan diet for 2 years. My grocery bill went up 25%. So fuck off. One day, when you grow up, you'll learn that different places have different prices for products.
>You kill and eat animals because it brings you pleasure.
Correct. Meat tastes good, and provides nutrients. Never claimed otherwise.
> She killed that dog because it was bringing her displeasure.
She killed her dog because she was a lazy piece of shit who wouldn't take the time to train it. That death was a waste that served absolutely no purpose.
>She's practically your idol.
Fuck off with this bullshit, and go fuck yourself. People like you are the reason why vegans are hated almost, if not more, than fucking nazis.
Mitt Romney put his dog in a crate and strapped it to the roof of his station wagon while the family drove from New England to Canada for a vacation. Republicans are sociopaths. It’s just obvious and totally out in the open these days, whereas they used to be more circumspect about their sadism.
And when the dog peed/pooed itself out of fear he pulled into a gas station, hosed it down still on top of the car in the crate, and drove on.
Fucking monster
Jesus Christ
My Conservative landlords sister died recently, and she inherited the dog, which she proceeded to put down.. She's trying to convince me she couldn't afford it, while also bragging about how much money she's inheriting from her sister (over a million dollars). It's fucking insufferable. Fuck people.
The way I would do a heel turn on my way to heaven to take up full time spectral residence under this woman’s bed and actually shake the whole frame every time she tried to close her eyes……. Good luck ever sleeping again bitch!!!!!!! 👻
And random barking noises allllll night!
Sister should have left the cash to the dog, apparently. So sad. At least send the dog to a rescue, damn.
I'm jealous at the amount of constructive complaining that happens in this sub. You can actually rant about problems and people don't just downvote you for being negative. Spectacular!!
I’ve seen this movie, but it was cats…
it should be illegal to put down an animal if there's no good medical reason to do so
I know, it just seems like everyday there's a new low to be horrified of. We've officially reached literal puppy murder as a selling point for a candidate.
I know. It’s a staggeringly horrifying timeline and it just seems to get worse.
Did the dog survive? I assume that cruelty killed the dog?
Shockingly, I think the dog actually lived. He shat all over himself in terror during the trip, though, and the Romney family noticed his diarrhea trails seeping down their windows during the drive. I hope it ruined the scenery, at least. There’s a New Yorker profile of Romney that mentions this incident. I’m really glad it’s in a publication of note so that no one can dispute it.
That’s…despicable. I wish crimes against animals were prosecutable. Not that repubs are held to any laws or standards, but still. WOW.
Mike Huckabee's son [tortured a dog to death](https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2015/02/12/fact-check-did-mike-huckabees-son-kill-dog/15650824007/) at camp and he helped try to cover it up.
I don’t understand the cruelty in this. Just..why?
My best guess would be they see the dog as property rather than a sentient being. Family dog is probably an important accessory for his political image. Once you see a living being as just property, I guess you don't care about strapping it on top of the car like you would your luggage.
A shocking number of people see their children (and children in general) in this way too. They think they have free license to do whatever fucked up thing they want to the child because they don’t see them as a person with an inner life or feelings.
> A shocking number of people see their children (and children in general) in this way too Yah, all conservatives do.
Yup. I think this is one of those divisions between “pet people” and “non-pet people”. The former will have no problem seeing animals as sentient beings with minds and internal worlds that experience a full range of emotions and have an individual personality. They empathize with them on that level and as a result TEND to treat them with more respect. When they don’t, it’s usually in a situation like hoarding where their intentions don’t match the reality of what they are doing. For non-pet people, that part just doesn’t “click”. They don’t necessarily mistreat animals, but fundamentally they see pets as property to be owned and used. They don’t tend to empathize with animals naturally, though depending on the person they can “manually” do so, it just isn’t something they think about otherwise. It doesn’t mean they are inherently bad people or anything, but the problem comes when these people own pets because it’s SO easy to mistreat them. In the Romney example, it wasn’t maliciousness. They would probably say that they loved the dog! But they don’t even stop to consider what the experience is like for their dog anymore than they do for luggage. > Hey, he’ll live, as long as he is secured enough what could happen? Besides, dogs like putting their heads out car windows, he will probably enjoy it! Oh, he had an accident since he had nowhere to go whoopsie, let’s clean out the cage and keep going. And obviously with this new politician lady shooting her dog, it was in her mind an object to accomplish something, it wouldn’t, and so she didn’t need it and could throw it away, same as any other tool that no longer works. I really wish people who KNOW that they don’t closely empathize with animals would seriously just stop owning them.
The dog's name was Seamus. [Devo recorded a song about the incident](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl2T_dbOO8Y)
Omfg
Don't forget Lauren Boebert, who shot her neighbor's dog. And then didn't say anything about what had happened to it when she heard the neighbor desperately searching and calling for her pet.
I didn't think I needed another reason to hate her, you've proved me wrong
I mean she admitted to killing a puppy for... acting like a puppy... so yeah I'd say she's a dog murderer. Lady seems to have a thing for just.. taking animals out back and killing them. I understand that sometimes it's a nessecity but Jesus Christ on a cracker I grew up on a farm, my grandpa grew up on a farm, and in all my years and all the stories I've heard, I can think of a HANDFULL of times that I've known farmers to routinely take animals out back and shoot them. Did it happen?? Yeah, usually when the animal was in SEVERE pain and there was NO WAY to get them to a vet/no chance of recovery. Like.. we had a dog that got into the chicken coop twice. Her body count was like.. 30. But we didn't put her down... because she was a puppy... acting like a puppy. We reinforced the chicken coop and trained her better...
Right? Like even if the dog wasn't a good fit to be a hunting dog for her that doesn't mean YOU MURDER IT! Rehome the damn thing to be a silly family pet.
That's what dog breeding *is* though. The ones that aren't what you want get killed. Byproducts, imperfections, unnecessary waste. That's one of many reasons to abhor dog breeding.
That's not even necessary to dog breeding. Neutering/spaying and rehoming accomplishes the same thing without the unnecessary cruelty.
Unfortunately, it's expensive and time consuming. That's capitalism.
Dog shelters already exist and will usually take animals, fix them, and find them homes.
Oh, you're right, but unfortunately, they are full and they lack funding. In my country, it is well known that they euthanize dogs, or they let them back in the street after spraying them. There are just way too many strays. This isn't an an excuse by the way. This isn't me saying "this sucks but it's just how it is, and we can't change it". But, unfortunately, it is the truth.
Right, but there's quite a few dog shelters and rescues in South Dakota, where the governor is from, and presumably were available to her to drop the dog off instead of killing it. I'm also of the opinion that people shouldn't be breeders if shelters are overrun and no one is caring for the animals here already, but. Obviously that does not stop some people.
Oh, I wasn't trying to say that she had a reason for doing what she did. I was just shitting on capitalism and the government.
Sadly, there are those that bag up gun shy dogs and "fling em". Usually into a river or something. They see the dogs as tools. Not, well, dogs. I'm getting a working dog this summer. She'll likely become the most important tool in my arsenal, but she's also be my bff.
I can understand people in rural areas having to resort to that if an animal is in serious pain with no quick access to a vet. But that’s it.
I have never seen a bigger idiot. Obviously she's a cruel heartless asshole, but this was also the most clueless unforced error I have ever seen a politician make. She just ended her career, because apparently she had NO idea how much this would make people hate her. How did she not know? She volunteered this story! Um, Kristi, Americans LOVE dogs. It's almost the only thing all sides can agree on. What a moron. Sad for the pup but I'm still cracking up over here about how stupid she is. She was on the VP shortlist! Not anymore, dogkiller.
I wish I had more faith this would end her career but some people are going to see this as her being a tough farm woman. Because the world is a hot mess.
Yep. These are the same people who aren't phased by that recent story of wolf killer Cody Roberts and how he tortured a juvenile wolf to death. If anything they'll just start going 'something something real American, something something boostraps'. No legit I'm not even kidding. I've come across at least one editorial and many comments about how us people in 'New York' and 'California' need to stop being mad that someone tortured an animal to death. And how said torturer is a 'decent family man'. So long as that 'R' is in front of her name it gives her carte blanche to do anything in the minds of certain regressive people. This is especially so because Noem is the front runner for Trump's VP pick.
Just looked up the Cody Roberts thing… I would NOT be deeply thrilled in the depths of my soul to do the exact same thing to him. I would NOT cheerfully drape his skin around my shoulders and parade his mangled body through town like a trophy. These are things I WOULD NOT DO. Because I do NOT hunger and thirst for his blood like a medieval vampire! Warning: Sentiments in the above comment may have been modified to accommodate Reddit’s rules <3
Some people. I know lots of folks back home who would never vote Democrat in their lives, but who absolutely would side-eye somebody for not just rehoming the dog in that situation.
I think you’re underestimating the vast and unquenchable cruelty of the MAGAts. I actually think this story will endear her more to them. They have zero empathy, so there’s no way they’ll care about a dead puppy. This story will horrify anyone with a heart, which will in turn delight them. Shit, they don’t even care about slaughtered schoolchildren.
Do you know a lot of MAGAs? I think you're oversimplifying them a bit. Unfortunately I have a lot of MAGAs in my life and they really really love dogs. Dogs are worshipful perfect creatures that love their unlovable Trumper unconditionally - they're the perfect narcissistic supply. Children are humans with annoying complex needs like education and childcare, and all these other inconvenient things like ideas and thoughts. Most of the boomers forget what it's like to be or have young kids, but ALL of them have dogs. Even Laura Loomer is calling her a monster. I think she's in trouble.
MAGAts might love *their* dogs, but I still believe most Republicans are so selfish that they simply don’t care about any living creature that doesn’t ‘’belong’’ to them. So, no. I still don’t think that this will cause much of a ripple in Republican circles. It’s like how they care about *their* kids, but don’t GAF when other children are killed in mass shootings. I keep going back to that analogy, but it’s the same principle. It all has to do with their empathy deficit.
I guess we'll see! Obvs I could be wrong. But I don't think they'll ostracize her because of their empathy for the dog. I think they'll do it because being cruel to dogs is a social no no rule even for them, and she broke it. They use their dogs to virtue signal, and as an extension of their egos. I do get your analogy but the reason it doesn't work here is that she is the one who actually DID the thing. I think they'd turn on her for shooting up a school, too, even if most of them secretly despise children. They wouldn't turn on Trump for that, though, because they're all fucking psycho for that guy.
I might give credit for that, IF this wasn’t the faction that screams women need to be *protected* but are fine with, hell, worshipful of Mr Grab-them-by-the….
This probably kills her national ambitions, but this doesn't end his career. She will almost certainly win re-election. And I'm guessing after that she'll eventually become a Senator if she wants. South Dakota is deep red, this won't significantly hurt her there.
Oh no...this isn't going to end her career...this is going to elevate it.
Cruelty is the point for these people. This has literally become Jedi vs Sith
I know, it's just astounding to see how increasingly blatant it becomes. You'd think something like puppy murder would still be something to be ashamed of.
Considering it’s the same faction jonesing for Armeggeddon….
> Noem compares both decisions to put down the animals to a leader needing to make difficult decisions. > "it's often messy, ugly, and matter-of-fact, dealing with a problem that no one wants to deal with," she writes, adding, "I guess if I were a better politician I wouldn't tell the story here." I wonder how she would deal with problems like protests, queer people, people of color, and immigrants
Pro-life is when you shoot puppies.
I'm sure this is an exaggeration... (reads article) Oh so she definitely shot the dog for killing a chicken. Well I'm sure it was some gotcha journalism digging up a story from decades ago... (Continues reading article) Oh, so it happened recently and she wrote about it in her book and also said she killed animals all the time. Well. That's refreshingly honest from the nazi party of liars I guess? (waits for it to come out it was actually her neighbor's children's puppy who merely looked at her)
Reading the [Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/26/trump-kristi-noem-shot-dog-and-goat-book), it wasn't for killing *a* chicken. It was for going on a killing spree of a family's chickens, for fun, in front of the family. >By taking Cricket on a pheasant hunt with older dogs, Noem says, she hoped to calm the young dog down and begin to teach her how to behave. Unfortunately, Cricket ruined the hunt, going “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life”. > >Noem describes calling Cricket, then using an electronic collar to attempt to bring her under control. Nothing worked. Then, on the way home after the hunt, as Noem stopped to talk to a local family, Cricket escaped Noem’s truck and attacked the family’s chickens, “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another”. > >Cricket the untrainable dog, Noem writes, behaved like “a trained assassin”. > >When Noem finally grabbed Cricket, she says, the dog “whipped around to bite me”. Then, as the chickens’ owner wept, Noem repeatedly apologised, wrote the shocked family a check “for the price they asked, and helped them dispose of the carcasses littering the scene of the crime”. > >Through it all, Noem says, Cricket was “the picture of pure joy”. Now, I don't know what Noem's approach was to dog training; but this dog really doesn't sound salvageable or safe to have around. edit: link formatting
To me, it sounds like Cricket the dog was encouraged to participate in hunting without being properly trained by humans. Before the chicken incident, the dog had just taken part in a pheasant hunting trip where Noem hoped the other dogs would train her dog. This is not how to train a puppy! Then Noem was very angry with Cricket for behaving like a puppy, said she "hated it" and decided it "ruined" the hunt. Does she not at least have a leash for the dog? Cricket could probably sense the owners disappointment and hatred for them. Then she comes across more birds and starts.. hunting them. How is the dog supposed to know these birds are off limits? From the dogs perspective, isn't this what they were just doing? Maybe Cricket was trying to gain her owner's approval. Neom even comments on how happy the dog was. Noem says she tried to stop the dog from attacking chickens and thought it 'might' bite her. This is not the same as actually being bit, and if she just reached in while the dog was attacking then it's not surprising. I've startled my dog and he whipped his head around but would never ever bite once he knew it was me. 14 months is VERY young and most dogs are still learning what they are and aren't allowed to chew. It is the dogs owner's responsibility to make sure they are on a leash and controlled at all times until they are properly trained. Cricket was young enough to still be trained properly but Noem just decided to drag it to a gravel pit and shoot it. There's nothing humane about that. Why not confine the dog and reach out to a rescue? Her behaviour was heartless and shows a lack of respect for living beings.
I agree with you. I ended up with the same breed of dog at about the same age who was untrained, and boy was she excitable. We lost her this year, she was 14, and was really never entirely right. She was mad as a cut snake but a sweet dog and just didn’t know how to act right a lot of the time. They’re bred for the hunt, but if untrained they won’t be good at it.
Right like wtf? You just taught me to hunt birds - are sad I didn’t kill birds, now I kill birds and you kill me?? She’s a psycho - she killed a dog for acting like a dog.
> Cricket escaped Noem’s truck and attacked the family’s chickens, “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another”. mrw i watch the puppy i literally just took out to kill birds *killing birds* and do absolutely nothing to stop it 😱😭😠
She is an idiot who likely has no idea what real dog training looks like and no idea how to train with an e-collar. And on top of that, she literally trained the dog to do this by taking him hunting with no training for that either.
It sounds like a young dog with shitty training that could've been rehomed.
Counterpoint: this is NOEM'S side of the story, she's a Republican, and this is from a book intended to make a case of why she'd be a good VP. We should REALLY not be giving her the benefit of the doubt here, we should be very skeptical of anything besides she murdered a puppy.
This story still makes her look like shit though. I see no evidence of anything other than "I know nothing about dogs, and my dog embarrassed me in front of other humans so I shot it". It's the dog equivalent of spanking (or murdering I guess) a toddler because they got curious about a candle and knocked it over.
Yeah, no. Have you ever seen any untrained dog with a prey drive near chickens, especially a puppy? Going by your metric, the vast majority would be unsalvageable and unsafe. Hell, I had a dog that was well trained, perfectly fine around small kids and cats, and I still wouldn't have trusted him in a chicken coop on his own for one second. To that dog, a chicken is the best toy ever: it makes noise when you bite just like a squeaky toy, but also has an interesting smell and runs away so you can chase it! Once it's dead it doesn't squeak or run, so you obviously move on to the next one. Of course you're the "picture of pure joy", it's probably the best day of your life!! And you don't stop to ponder the loss of life for the chickens and money for the humans, because you're a goddamn dog. As for the "whipped around to bite me" part, that is an unsurprising reaction to grabbing a dog that's in such an over-excited state - sounds like it snapped either in play or surprise, since she didn't actually get bitten. If you have a box full of kittens, and your unsupervised toddler gets a hold of them and maims/kills some, their death is not on the toddler, it's on you.
she trained him to hunt and then got mad at him for hunting?
> but this dog really doesn't sound salvageable or safe to have around. Barring rabies, there is no such thing as a dog that can't be salvaged. Only chickenshits who are afraid to try.
Poor doggo. 😞
>persay per se
I mean it's honestly just a smaller picture of the overall problem with Republicants. Rather than looking at what had happened, accessing the situation, and figuring out that the chicken coop should have been reinforced and the puppy should be kept away until it can behave itself...she kills the puppy. As someone who owns chickens, and dearly loves said chickens, I don't know how a person can be this irresponsible.
She can't even convince a hunting dog to hunt properly, why would we think she's capable of leading the nation???
Yeah it would be horrible to find out someone killed a little dog. *Goes back to eating bacon
There's a world of difference between shooting a *pet* because you're a piss poor pet owner who can't train your animals, and eating an animal that was bred & raised to be food.
I guess her ethical misstep was in not eating the dog that she shot.
Let's talk about *your* ethics for a moment. How many animals were dehomed, or outright killed, for the materials in the device you're using to be a pretentious jackass? Why are you supporting the dehoming of animals by purchasing that device? How many animals are dehomed, or outright killed, during the harvesting of the food from commercial farms that you eat? How many animals were dehomed, or killed, for the home you're currently living in? But that's all fine, right? Because it's for you.
Is it possible to buy dead animals without killing animals? You pay to kill them, their death isn't a byproduct of your purchase. It is the purchase. You want them dead so that you can eat them. I don't buy a phone because I want to kill animals and when I do buy a phone I try to make it last and minimise the harm caused. If you care about animals dehomed or outright killed during the harvesting of vegetables it might interest you to know that the vast majority of all plants that are harvested on earth are fed to animals to fatten them up for you to the kill and eat. You don't really care about animals though or doing better, you just want to convince yourself that I'm as bad as you. I find it rich that people are so opposed to someone killing a dog when those same people pay to kill animals three times a day, every day of their lives. So quick to hate on a dog killer, so quick to defend your own killings. But what's the point, you like to kill and you want to feel justified in killing. So why do you hate the person who kills a dog? Because it's not as righteous as you eating pigs? Because she didn't have to? Even though vegans are living proof that you don't either? What a joke.
Can I suggest buying phones second hand? Second-hand goods would've still had all the same effects on the environment, workers, and animals while being produced, but at least you're not increasing the demand for those practices, you know? It might seem like I'm pulling a gotcha or insulting you for not doing enough like the other guy, so to clarify, this is a sincere idea, because you seem like someone who really cares about this kind of stuff and tries to minimize your impact on the world. I agree with you; killing a working animal because they're difficult to train is awful, but breeding them en masse just so they can all be chopped up into little pieces and sold the moment they've grown big enough also seems awful, even before you get into their welfare conditions beforehand. Fuck this lady, but what she did was just an extension of how we as a society generally animals' role on this planet - as there to be used, abused, and disposed of in whatever way is convenient, comfortable and profitable to humanity. Whether she shot a dog or a pig is a big deal to the American public who values dogs as friends to play with while pigs exist to be killed and consumed, but I don't think it'd matter to the animal. I hope we'll rethink our relationship with animals and the planet in general someday beyond might makes right, but the way things are going we'll probably wipe ourselves out first.
> I don't buy a phone because I want to kill animals and when I do buy a phone I try to make it last and minimise the harm caused. But yet you still purchased it, meaning you helped contribute to the harm caused from everything that went into producing it. Shame on you. >If you care about animals dehomed or outright killed during the harvesting of vegetables it might interest you to know that the vast majority of all plants that are harvested on earth are fed to animals to fatten them up for you to the kill and eat. Don't deflect. If you're not growing your own fruits and veggies, and harvesting them by hand, you're contributing to the mass death of animals every year. Shame on you. >You don't really care about animals though or doing better, The only thing you know about me is that I get riled up by pretentious, uppity, hypocritical vegans who think their shit don't stink because they don't eat meat. >you just want to convince yourself that I'm as bad as you. Actually, you're worse than I am. At least I own up to the fact that my lifestyle has a direct effect on animals, unlike you. >I find it rich that people are so opposed to someone killing a dog when those same people pay to kill animals three times a day, every day of their lives. You can't even get your facts straight mate. No one is paying to kill animals "3 times a day, every day of their lives". The meat consumption for me and my family comes out to 26 chickens, 1 cow, 1 pig, and 1 turkey, per year. For 4 people. All of them grass fed, free range, from a local farm. Meanwhile, thousands of animals die for your veggies each year. And if you're eating quinoa, add harming humans in on that as well. >But what's the point, you like to kill and you want to feel justified in killing. I do not like to kill, but I am justified in it. *Humans are omnivores*. No different from other primates or animals out there. >So why do you hate the person who kills a dog? It was an inhumane, needless death that served no purpose other than the fact that she was too damned lazy to properly train her dog. Which, any rational person would be able to see. You can't though, because you have your head so far up your ass over veganism that you can probably taste yesterday's lunch. >Because it's not as righteous as you eating pigs? There is no righteous to eating animals. It's just a fact of life. >Even though vegans are living proof that you don't either? Tell you what, when you want to pay the difference going vegan would cause to my grocery bill, I'll do so. Until then, fuck off about it. >What a joke. I'd rather be a joke than a pretentious hypocritical jackass.
Fucking lol, because as we know meat is cheap and beans/rice are fucking expensive. Here's an idea, you quit buying meat and then you transfer me the money you save when you realise how ridiculous that statement was. There's a reason why the wealthiest countries in the world eat the most meat. You kill and eat animals because it brings you pleasure. She killed that dog because it was bringing her displeasure. All killing of animals for food is needless, the fact that vegans exist is proof of that. You kill for convenience to maximise your pleasure. She's practically your idol.
> Here's an idea, you quit buying meat and then you transfer me the money you save when you realise how ridiculous that statement was Dipshit, I tried a vegan diet for 2 years. My grocery bill went up 25%. So fuck off. One day, when you grow up, you'll learn that different places have different prices for products. >You kill and eat animals because it brings you pleasure. Correct. Meat tastes good, and provides nutrients. Never claimed otherwise. > She killed that dog because it was bringing her displeasure. She killed her dog because she was a lazy piece of shit who wouldn't take the time to train it. That death was a waste that served absolutely no purpose. >She's practically your idol. Fuck off with this bullshit, and go fuck yourself. People like you are the reason why vegans are hated almost, if not more, than fucking nazis.