Kristi Noem is under fire as her history as a “puppy killer” comes back. In her memoir No Going Back, which was published in 2024, the Homeland Security Chief gave a graphic description of brutally shooting her puppy, Cricket. The story has now made a return in the House of Representatives after Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) read from her memoir during a Judiciary Committee meeting on November 18.
The story resurfaced as the Judiciary Committee was discussing amendments to the Bill to Outlaw Wounding of Official Working Animals Act, also known as BOWOW. The Republican Party wants Kristi Noem’s department to amend the BOWOW Act. The GOP wants to deport an immigrant who has been convicted of harming an animal used in law enforcement.
Moskowitz during a hearing reads an excerpt from Kristi Noem’s book where she talks about shooting her dog Cricket and says, “If we’re get on high horse about animal cruelty I just want to make sure we apply that equally” pic.twitter.com/T2tt0NxGu0
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 18, 2025
The man in question is an Egyptian immigrant who pleaded guilty to “violently kicking” Freddie at Washington’s Dulles International Airport earlier this year. Freddie is a CBP agriculture detector dog. The man has since returned to Egypt after paying the vet bill.
On Wednesday, Tom McClintock, a GOP Rep., said in a statement, “He will never be allowed back in our country again. Unless, of course, another Joe Biden becomes President.” McClintock added that amending the bill would mean “if you were convicted of harming a law enforcement animal, or you admit to doing so, while you were a guest of our country, you will immediately be expelled and never allowed to return.”
“Can’t we at least all agree that kicking a 5-year-old beagle at an airport should disqualify any foreign national from entering our country ever again?” he added. However, Jared Moskowitz quickly pointed out the irony in the matter and brought up Noem’s personal history as a “puppy killer.”
In her book, No Going Back, the DHS Secretary admitted that she shot her female dog, Cricket, who was only 14 months old at that time. Justifying her action, she claimed that the puppy had an “aggressive personality.”
Cricket was shot and killed by Kristi Noem.
Should Kristi Noem be leading this administration’s careless and discriminatory crackdown on our communities?
Democrats say NO! https://t.co/kfPXU0ruR7 pic.twitter.com/yYcwvo8mw8
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) November 18, 2025
Moskowitz read a passage from her memoir: “It starts, ‘I hated that dog… The dog, on the way home from a pheasant hunt, was untrainable, and it went to attack the chickens. At that moment, I realized I had to put her down. So I grabbed a gun and led Cricket to a gravel pit. It wasn’t a pleasant job, but it had to be done.’”
Meanwhile, Democrat Dan Goldman stated that the BOWOW Act should be renamed the Kristi Noem Canine Protection Act, “to more accurately reflect the only documented case of extreme canine violence connected to top members of the GOP.”
He added, “It is noteworthy that we are doubling down on deporting and arresting individuals who assault dogs in this case. And make no mistake, I am strongly against anyone assaulting dogs. But I really want to know how, if at all, it would apply to Cabinet members who have admitted that they have shot and killed a dog.”
