Kristi Noem's Dog Memorial in Front of Trump Tower Goes Viral – Here's Why People Are Celebrating

Pedestrians walking past Trump Tower in New York City are being stopped in their tracks by a provocative art installation. The piece, which targets South Dakota Governor and current federal official Kristi Noem, uses shock tactics to criticise her handling of US border agencies.

The display combines the lingering scandal of her dog-killing controversy with serious allegations regarding human rights abuses within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The installation is centred around a large photograph of Noem, captioned with the words 'Sick Puppy'.

The Story Behind the Memorial

The origins of this memorial date back to May 2024, when excerpts from Noem's book, No Going Back, were published. In an attempt to showcase her decisiveness and willingness to make 'difficult, messy and ugly' choices, Noem detailed the day she killed her 14-month-old puppy.

Cricket, a female wirehaired pointer, was intended to be a pheasant hunting dog. However, Noem wrote that the dog was 'untrainable' and 'dangerous'. After Cricket ruined a hunting trip, killed a neighbour's chickens, and bit the governor, Noem decided to take action. She led the dog to a gravel pit and shot her.

'I hated that dog,' Noem wrote bluntly in the biography. She described Cricket as 'less than worthless' as a hunting companion. The grisly nature of the story was compounded by what followed immediately after. Still in a 'rage', Noem turned her attention to a family goat she deemed 'nasty and mean'. She dragged the goat to the same gravel pit and shot him. The goat survived the first shot, forcing Noem to return to her truck to fetch another shell to finish the job.

Witnesses and Family Reaction

The incident was not a private affair. A construction crew working nearby witnessed the shooting of both animals. Furthermore, the timing coincided with the arrival of the school bus. Noem's daughter, Kennedy, arrived home shortly after the killings and asked, 'Hey, where's Cricket?'

At the time of the book's release, Noem defended her actions as a reality of farm life. 'We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,' she stated on X. She argued that the anecdote was included to show she could handle tough situations, a trait she believed would appeal to voters and former President Donald Trump, who was then searching for a running mate.

However, the strategy backfired spectacularly. Instead of looking strong, she appeared cruel to many voters. Democrats and Republicans alike condemned the act. The Democratic National Committee called the passage 'horrifying', while polls showed a sharp decline in her popularity.

Pop Culture Keeps the Story Alive

The memorial at Trump Tower is not the only way the public has kept Cricket's memory alive. The long-running satirical show South Park targeted Noem in its 27th season.

The writers used her own logic against her in a recurring gag. 'A few years ago, I had to put my puppy down by shooting it in the face, because sometimes doing what's important means doing what's hard,' the animated version of Noem says in the show.

The scene then cuts to her character shooting innocent dogs, satirising her defence of the real-life event. This pop culture moment introduced the scandal to a younger audience and cemented the association between Noem and animal cruelty.

Why the Memorial Went Viral

The appearance of the memorial has sparked fresh conversation on social media platforms. On Reddit, one user noted the disturbing nature of the book's narrative: 'The fact that a memorial exists because she casually included 'I shot my dog' as a quirky leadership anecdote in her book will never not be dystopian.'

Others pointed out the link between her treatment of animals and her political persona. 'It is no surprise the contempt and hatred she has for other humans seeing how she treats animals,' another user commented.