German wirehaired pointer

Since late last month, Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota has been the subject of fierce bipartisan attacks for her decision to shoot and kill her family dog, a 14-month-old German wirehaired pointer named Cricket.

Among those groups is the National German Wirehaired Pointer Rescue, which called on Noem in a Facebook post to take accountability for her “horrific decision” and to educate the public that there are more humane solutions.

“I’m not sure which thing she did was stupider: The fact that she murdered the dog, or the fact that she was stupid enough to publish it in a book,” said Joan Payton, of the German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America.

Steve, a German wirehaired pointer, showed at Westminster last year and represented his breed before millions of Thanksgiving Day TV viewers at the National Dog Show in Philadelphia in 2018.

She’s driven 35,000 miles all over the state stumping for votes this year, many in this truck but most in her electric hybrid car, with her dog Danni, a spring-loaded german wirehaired pointer and the star of Williams’ first campaign ad.