Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing online mockery after sharing a photo with her new hunting dog, with social-media users jokingly warning her not to kill this pet, too.
“This poor dog is staring at the camera like he’s on death row,” Tommy Vietor, a former Obama National Security Council staffer, posted on X in response to the image.
Noem posted the photo Saturday to mark the start of pheasant hunting season. In the picture, she poses with her dog, Foster, while describing hunting as a family tradition that should continue through future generations.
“Pheasant hunting is part of who we are, and it’s a tradition worth passing on to our kids and grandkids,” Noem wrote.
The post, however, quickly drew attention to Noem’s controversial account of killing one of her own dogs.
“Please don’t kill him,” commenters wrote, reviving the backlash that began in 2024 after Noem disclosed in her memoir that she had shot and killed her 14-month-old dog, Cricket.
Other users joined in, including one who posted an AI-edited version of the image portraying Foster as visibly alarmed.
In her memoir, “No Going Back,” Noem wrote that she took Cricket on a pheasant hunt, where the young dog did not behave as expected. According to Noem’s account, Cricket killed a neighbor’s chickens and tried to bite her when she attempted to restrain the animal.
Noem said she eventually brought Cricket to a gravel pit and shot her, describing the dog as “untrainable” and dangerous.
The disclosure triggered widespread outrage from animal lovers and drew renewed national scrutiny as Noem was considered a possible running mate for Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.
At the time, Noem defended her decision, calling it a painful but necessary choice on a farm. She also accused politicians of presenting a false image of themselves.
“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old story of Cricket,” Noem wrote on X in April 2024, while continuing to defend her actions.
Noem previously served as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before leaving the position earlier this year.
