Members of Congress are launching a “Congressional Dog Lovers Caucus” as a tongue–in-cheek response to the governor of South Dakota, who recently disclosed in her memoir that she killed an “ill-behaved” dog 20 years ago because the dog did not fare well during a hunt and attacked neighbors’ chickens. 

“In light of recent events, we’re launching the Congressional Dog Lovers Caucus today! This group dedicated to man’s best friend aims to foster bipartisan cooperation and will help put paws over politics,” Congressman Jared Moskowitz said on X. In the post, he shared a photo of himself with his dog, as well as photos of Congresswoman Susan Wild and Congresswoman Nancy Mace with their dogs. 

“If there is one thing Congress can agree on, it is that we all LOVE our furry friends!” Ms. Mace said. 

The creation of the new caucus is a not-so-thinly-veiled swipe at Governor Noem, who recently admitted — in an attempt to demonstrate her own strength and grit — that she shot and killed her 14-month old dog Cricket. She disclosed the fact in her forthcoming book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move Forward,” a copy of which was obtained by the Guardian.

Ms. Noem attempted to explain her decision in a recent post on X, saying that it was humane to shoot the dog when she least expected it. She noted that it is perfectly legal in South Dakota to kill dogs when they harm livestock. 

“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,” Ms. Noem wrote on X. “The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned.”

“What I learned from my years of public service, especially leading South Dakota through Covid, is people are looking for leaders who are authentic, willing to learn from the past, and don’t shy away from tough challenges,” she said. 

On Wednesday, she went on Fox News to explain her decision once again — after a series of jokes online and at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. 

“It was a dog that was extremely dangerous. It had come to us from a family who had found her way too aggressive. We were her second chance, and the day she was put down was the day that she massacred livestock that were part of our neighbor’s [farm]. She attacked me, and it was a hard decision,” she said. 

In her book, she also admits to euthanizing a goat with her shotgun at the same spot where she killed the dog. Ms. Noem writes that she failed to kill the goat on the first shot, and was forced to run back to her car for another shotgun shell before finishing off the animal.  

Her explanations have done nothing to make the jokes subside, but the continued press coverage of the dog killing has reportedly resulted in Ms. Noem being removed from President Trump’s vice presidential shortlist.

“Everyone around Trump is talking about this,” one Trumpworld source told the Daily Beast. “Haven’t seen a more public suicide than Jim Jones at Jonestown.”