South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem returned to the Sunday talk shows after being ripped last month for shooting her dog, but unlike the ill-fated canine, the story just won’t die.

Ms. Noem once again defended the decision to include the dog-shooting incident in her book “No Going Back,” telling CNN anchor Dana Bash in a testy Sunday interview that she was protecting her children from a dangerous animal.

Asked if she had “regrets” about sharing the tale, Ms. Noem pushed back, saying “That story’s the 20-year-old story of a mom who made a very difficult decision to protect her children from a vicious animal that was attacking livestock, and killing livestock, and attacking people.”

“It’s in the book because it was difficult for me, and there’s a lot in that book that I think people need to read,” said Ms. Noem, a Republican. “I don’t know if you’ve read it or not.”

Interjected Ms. Bash: “I’ve read the whole thing.”

Ms. Noem replied: “Oh, good, well, I’m glad you did. Thank you for doing that,” then pivoted to the 2024 presidential election.

“But there’s a lot in that book that’s very important,” said the Republican governor. “I hope people will read it because it’s a how-to guide for the average citizen on how to get their government back and why I believe that we need to have President Trump back in the White House.”

Like a pup with a bone, however, Ms. Bash refused to drop the matter, saying, “What I’m hearing is no regrets, not just about writing about it, but actually shooting the dog.”

Ms. Noem shot back with “We’ve covered this.” She then said that a 9-year-old South Dakota boy was recently killed by a dog.

“That happens. And that 9-year-old boy will never be in his parents’ lives again,” Ms. Noem said. “He’ll never be in his family’s lives again. People are put in tough situations in life, and we learn from it.”

Ms. Bash asked: “What did you learn?”

“I’ve learned that challenging times and hard decisions are hard,” the governor said. “And that when you get into public office, you learn from every single one of them.”

“And you use that knowledge to go forward and to make wise decisions that are best for America,” Ms. Noem said before blasting President Biden.

“That’s why Joe Biden’s such a train wreck,” she said. “The guy’s 80 years old and making the worst decisions I’ve ever seen him make in his entire life and destroying our country.”

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.