Talk of who might be on former President Donald Trump's VP shortlist has been all the rage in recent weeks. 

One of the top contenders, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, was reportedly on his list -- that is, until she told the story of how she shot and killed her aggressive young dog.

According to The Guardian, Noem "had a shot" at being named Trump's vice presidential running mate until the story, part of her recent book, hit the headlines and generated insane amounts of outrage.

Her upcoming book details how she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog "Cricket" that was reportedly aggressive toward chickens and not good for hunting.

Extreme backlash

While putting down an aggressive animal isn't shocking for most rural Americans, the moment that the story hit social media, it was pretty much over for Noem as far as her vice presidential career.

"She was already unlikely to be picked as VP but had a shot," a Trump insider reportedly told the New York Post. "After this, it’s just impossible."

What do you think about Kristi Noem killing her 14 month old puppy ?

She said it killed one of her neighbors chickens and bit her.

Is this a good reason to kill a dog ?

She described how she “hated that dog” and described it as “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.” pic.twitter.com/v0YPmciFga

— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) April 26, 2024

The Guardian noted:

"No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward," will be published next month. Last week, the Guardian obtained a copy and reported the startling tale of Noem and Cricket the dog, who Noem says she “hated”.

In the story, Noem compares the unpleasant things that happen on farms to the unpleasantries of politics. She argued that she was legally obligated to kill the dog given that it attacked several of her neighbor's chickens and reportedly bit her.

The snippet from the upcoming book caused such an uproar that the optics of the situation became far too radioactive for Trump to leave her on the VP shortlist. Many compared the moment to Sen. Mitt Romney's infamous dog story that some say killed his chances at the presidency.

Social media responds

The dog-killing story generated mountains of discussion across social media.

"As an animal lover I will never support her again. She could have found a home for the dog. I have a whole new prospective about her and it ain't a good one," one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "Sometimes, you have to put a dog down when they are violent. I don't know enough about the situation to judge her."

The NY Post quoted another Trump source that said while he was a fan of Noem, he was "disappointed when hearing the 'dog' story."