Kristi Noem's VP Odds Crash After Dog Killing Revelation

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has seen her chances of becoming Donald Trump's 2024 running mate fall dramatically after reports of her shooting her "untrainable" dog emerged, according to an online prediction market.

Polymarket, a platform where users can place "yes" or "no" bets on the likelihood of world events, is currently giving Noem a 3 percent chance of potentially being the next Republican vice president.

On Friday, Noem was given a 5 percent chance of being selected as Trump's next running mate, down from 10 percent the previous day. On March 25, Polymarket was listing Noem as the second favorite with 9 percent chance, behind South Carolina Senator Tim Scott on 22 percent.

Noem, New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance have long been considered front-runners for the role of Trump's next running mate. The latest Polymarket odds show Scott in the lead with a 22 percent chance among named candidates, followed by Stefanik on 9 percent, with Vance and Trump's former GOP primary rival Nikki Haley both given 6 percent.

The decline in Noem's chances of being Trump's running has coincided with extracts of her book being published by British newspaper The Guardian that revealed she shot her 14-month old pet dog, Cricket, because of its aggressive behavior.

"I hated that dog," Noem writes in No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, adding Cricket was "untrainable" and "dangerous to anyone she came in contact with."

"At that moment," Noem adds, "I realized I had to put her down."

"It was not a pleasant job," she added after describing shooting the dog. "But it had to be done."

Noem was widely mocked and condemned for admitting shooting her pet after the revelation.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, the former White House communications director turned critic of the former president, posted on X, previously called Twitter: "I'm a dog lover and I am honestly horrified by the Kristi Noem excerpt. I wish I hadn't even read it. A 14-month-old dog is still a puppy and can be trained. A large part of bad behavior in dogs is not having proper training from humans.

"Dogs are a gift from God. They're a reflection of his unconditional love. Anyone who would needlessly hurt an animal because they are inconvenient needs help."

Sarah Matthews, another Trump aide turned critic, added: "When I saw tweets about Kristi Noem murdering her puppy, I thought to myself, 'Damn, one of the other VP contenders' teams found some oppo,' until I realized SHE wrote about it in HER book.

"I'm not sure why anyone would brag about this unless they're sick and twisted."

In an X post defending her actions, Noem wrote: "We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.

"If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that'll have the media gasping, preorder 'No Going Back.'"

Noem's office has been contacted for further comment via email.

In February, Trump indicated that Noem and Scott were the front-runners to be his running mate.

"I called Tim Scott and I told him 'you're a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself,'" he told Fox News.

"Kristi Noem has been incredible fighting for me," he added. "She said 'I'd never run against him because I can't beat him.' That was a very nice thing to say."

Noem told Fox News in February that she and Trump have "never had that conservation" about her potentially being his 2024 running mate.

Update 04/27/2024, 10:25 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.