South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) doubled down after revealing in her new book that she shot dead her own dog , with her latest comments prompting a second wave of backlash.

I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket, she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned.

She argued that, under South Dakota law, dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down.

Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did, she said. Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle. Even if its hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.

As I explained in the book, it wasnt easy. But often the easy way isnt the right way, she added.

In her new book, No Going Back: The Truth on Whats Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward, Noem recalls shooting a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer on her ranch, the Guardian reported Friday after obtaining an advance copy.

Noem, a contender to be former President Donald Trump s running mate, said she hated Cricket, describing the pup as untrainable, dangerous and less than worthless ... as a hunting dog.

She said she shot the animal in a gravel pit.

It was not a pleasant job, she wrote. But it had to be done.

She faced fierce criticism over the weekend in regard to the shocking anecdote.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, on Saturday shared an image of his dog enjoying a treat, captioned , Post a picture with your dog that doesnt involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. Ill start.

In New York we love our puppies, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) tweeted .

Sundays non-apology seemed to only stoke the flames.

If you cant express sincere regret about blowing a puppys brains out, you should simply be grateful the statute of limitations has run, and just shut up about it, conservative attorney George Conway posted .

Conservative commentator Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), said Noems story is something out of a horror movie.

My family has a ranch outside of Sedona no one has ever shot a dog for any reason. This is not a rural/ranch thing, she wrote.

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Correction: A previous version of this article said the dog was 14 years old. The dog was 14 months old.