Al Drago / Getty Images One incident in Kristi Noem’s personal CV reportedly secured her a plum role in President Donald Trump’s administration. In the Secretary of Homeland Security’s 2024 memoir No Going Back , Noem admitted to shooting her 14-month-old puppy Cricket, claiming the female dog had an “aggressive personality.” “I hated that dog,” Noem, 54, wrote in her book, calling Cricket “worthless.” Of the fatal shot she fired two decades ago, Noem wrote, “It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done.” She then buried the puppy in a gravel pit. Read more at The Daily Beast.