Rep. Dan Goldman Moves to Rename GOP Animal Cruelty Bill to the ‘Kristi Noem Canine Relief Act’

 

 

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) today introduced an amendment which would rename the Republican BOWOW Act to 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. 

 

"Make no mistake, I am strongly against anyone assaulting dogs,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “And I think the ranking member laid out very clearly the problem with this bill, 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. Is it only at ports of entry, or is this just broadly against any assault on dogs?...This renaming, I think, would really capture the true essence of the bill, which is that we really don't want anybody to kill dogs, especially the Secretary of Homeland Security.” 

    

In her 2024 memoir, No Going Back, Kristi Noem wrote in detail about shooting and killing her 14-month-old dog Cricket after declaring the dog “aggressive,” “untrainable,” and “less than worthless” as a hunting companion. Noem described leading Cricket to a gravel pit and shooting her, later defending the decision as an example of her ability to do things that are “difficult, messy, and ugly.” 

 

The underlying Republican bill, H.R. 4638, would make noncitizens deportable or inadmissible if they are convicted of or admit to harming a police animal. The bill was drafted in response to a single airport incident where a traveler kicked a CBP agriculture detection dog, yet it does not apply to DHS Secretaries shooting their own personal pets. 

 

Goldman’s amendment underscores the GOP’s insistence on demonizing immigrants while ignoring violence within its own ranks.