Kristi Noem Sparks New Outrage After Posing With Hunting Dog and Rifle — Critics Beg Her to Spare Her New Pet

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has found herself at the center of another wave of online criticism after sharing a photograph of herself posing with a new hunting dog and a rifle.

The image, posted on October 17, 2026, showed Noem wearing hunting gear and standing beside her dog, Foster, as she celebrated the opening of pheasant hunting season in South Dakota.

“Happy Opener, South Dakota! Foster and I wish you good luck in the field!” she wrote in the caption.

She also described pheasant hunting as a longstanding tradition worth passing down to future generations.

But instead of focusing on the start of hunting season, many social media users quickly turned their attention to the dog standing beside her.

One photograph brings back the Cricket controversy

The reaction was closely connected to a controversial episode Noem described in her 2024 memoir, No Going Back.

In the book, she admitted śh́óóting and 𝘬iᩚlling her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, Cricket, after describing the animal as difficult to control.

Noem wrote that Cricket had killed a neighbor’s chickens and behaved aggressively, including attempting to bite her. She said she ultimately took the dog to a gravel pit and shot it.

The account triggered widespread criticism from animal lovers, politicians and dog-training experts, many of whom argued that training, professional assistance or rehoming could have been considered instead.

Noem defended her decision at the time, describing it as a difficult choice connected to farm life and safety concerns.

Social media users flood the new photograph with comments

Once the photograph with Foster appeared online, users quickly brought up the story of Cricket.

Some commenters urged Noem to protect the new dog, while others used dark humor to criticize the image of a politician posing with a rifle beside a pet.

“Please don’t 𝘬iᩚll him,” one commenter wrote.

Another joked that Foster appeared to be looking at the camera as though he were in danger.

Tommy Vietor, a former Obama administration national security official, also reacted to the photograph, writing that the dog looked as if he were on dєatᩚh row.

Other users questioned whether Noem would treat Foster differently if the animal proved difficult to train.

The comments were largely sarcastic reactions to her previous admission, rather than evidence that Foster had been mistreated.

Noem’s hunting tradition draws renewed attention

The photograph was intended to mark the beginning of South Dakota’s pheasant hunting season, which opened on October 17 and runs through January 31, 2027.

Noem has frequently presented hunting and rural traditions as part of her personal and political identity.

However, her latest post revived a controversy that has followed her since the publication of her memoir.

The criticism also came shortly after country music star Kacey Musgraves made a pointed reference to the Cricket incident in a social media exchange involving Noem.

Foster becomes the center of an unexpected online debate

The new photograph quickly became more than a seasonal hunting announcement.

For critics, it was a reminder of Noem’s own account of 𝘬iᩚlling Cricket. For supporters of hunting traditions, the photograph showed an ordinary activity associated with rural life in South Dakota.

There is no evidence in the reporting that Foster has been harmed or that Noem has threatened the animal.

Still, the intense reaction demonstrates how a controversial personal story can continue to shape public responses to even seemingly routine social media posts.

For now, Foster remains at the center of an online debate that began with one photograph — and a question many commenters could not resist asking: Will this dog have a different fate from Cricket?

Source link:  DAILYMAIL