Karine Jean-Pierre blasts Kristi Noem's 'disturbing' call to have Bidens' banished pet dog Commander put down after biting a series of agents: 'This is a country that loves dogs'

• e-mail

The White House snapped back at South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem Monday after she issued a bizarre call in a TV interview to have the president's banished German shepherd Commander put down after a series of biting incidents.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre delivered the unusually sharp response after Noem made the comment Sunday while trying to contain the pet issue that already has observers saying it could wipe her off Donald Trump's list of vice presidential contenders.

Days ago, Jean-Pierre called revelations that Noem had her own farm pup Cricket shot in a gravel pit immediately after the animal killed chickens from a neighbor's flock 'sad.' 

'When we learned last week, obviously like all of you, in her book that she killed her puppy, you heard me say that was very sad. We find her comments from yesterday disturbing,' Jean-Pierre told reporters.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called it 'disturbing' and 'absurd' after South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem suggested President Biden's dog Commander (who has left the White House) be put down

'We find them absurd. And, and here – this is a country that loves dogs. And you have a leader talking about putting dogs down, killing them. And that's a disturbing statement. I would say her she should probably should stop digging herself in a hole.'

It was a pointedly direct comment for the press secretary, who frequently tries to dodge volatile questions by referring to government agencies or invoking rules she says bar her from venturing a response.

Her words prompted reporters to shout out more follow ups, including about the status of Commander, who left he White House last fall after a series of concerning biting incidents involving Secret Service members.

'Commander is living with family members,' she said.

Her response came after Noem suggested President Joe Biden's dog Commander should be put down because of his aggressive behavior in another stunning defense of shooting dead her 14-month-old puppy.

The South Dakota Republican said she told the story about killing her farm dog Cricket because 'people need to understand who I am.'

At the end of her book where she told the story about shooting and killing the dog, Noem suggested that Biden's German Shepherd Commander should be put down, writing the dog should 'say hello to Cricket.'

She doubled-down on Sunday, telling CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan that she does think it would be best to put down the president's dog, who was removed from the White House complex after a series of attacks.

Prepared: Jean-Pierre was ready with a response when a reporter asked about Noem's comments at Monday's White House press briefing

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem doubled down on suggesting President Joe Biden's dog Commander should be put down

Biden's German Shepard Commander was removed from the White House complex after multiple reports of biting incidents 

'Joe Biden's dog has attacked 24 Secret Service people,' Noem said. 'So how many people is enough people to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog.'

She added: 'That's the question that the President should be held accountable to.'

Several reports emerged about how Commander exhibited aggressive behavior toward staff and specifically posed safety issues and bite risks for Secret Service agents.

She dodged Brennan's question, however, on whether she felt that Commander ' should be shot.'

Noem said that she took care of her 'untrainable' dog the correct way by taking Cricket to a gravel pit and shooting her after aggressive behaviors like killing neighbor's chickens and trying to bite her.

Critics claim that Noem, who shot her dog while her kids were at school, could have rehomed the dog or surrendered to a shelter that may have been better equipped to train the animal.

Noem detailed in her upcoming book a story about shooting and killing her 'dangerous' 14-month-old farm puppy Cricket  (not pictured)

Noem's book No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward hits shelves on May 7. The release follows a few weeks of criticism after an excerpt was published in The Guardian where the governor told a two-decade old story about killing her family's farm dog.

'The reason that this story is in the book — because people need to understand who I am and some of those difficult decisions,' Noem told Brennan on Sunday when explaining why she included the recounting of the decision to kill Cricket.

Noem's chances of being selected as Donald Trump's vice president also severely decreased after the story came out.