Source: Politics<\/p>\n
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is doubling down on her decision to shoot and kill her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, 20 years ago, saying that she shot the \u201cdangerous\u201d dog in order to protect her children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were her second chance,\u201d Noem said Wednesday evening on Fox News\u2019 \u201cHannity.\u201d \u201cThe day she was put down was a day that she massacred livestock that were part of our neighbors. She attacked me. And it was a hard decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noem said she had to choose between \u201ckeeping my small children and other people safe, or a dangerous animal, and I chose the safety of my children.\u201d<\/p>\n
The governor, who has been floated as a top contender for former President Donald Trump\u2019s running mate, has faced condemnation from both sides of the aisle<\/a> for nearly a week after The Guardian reported<\/a> that Noem writes in her upcoming book that she \u201chated\u201d the \u201caggressive\u201d dog, who she says ruined a pheasant hunt and attacked her neighbor\u2019s chickens. She has defended her decision before, saying earlier this week that \u201cSouth Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down.\u201d<\/p>\n Noem blamed the backlash on \u201cfake news\u201d which left out \u201csome or most of the facts\u201d of the story and \u201cput the worst spin on it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hope people really do buy this book and they find out the truth of the story because the truth of the story is that this was a working dog and it was not a puppy,\u201d Noem said in the interview. \u201cIt was a dog that was extremely dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n