He Shot Their Dog Too: Family Pet Euthanized After MN Lawmaker and Husband Killed in Home Attack
It takes a special kind of evil to shoot a golden retriever.
The tragic shooting that claimed the lives of Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband early Saturday grew even more heartbreaking this week. The family’s golden retriever, Gilbert, was also shot when the alleged murderer, Vance Luther Boelter, opened fire inside their Brooklyn Park home.
Unable to survive his injuries, Gilbert was euthanized on Monday.
It takes a special kind of evil to shoot a golden retriever. It’s hard to fathom how anyone could harm such an innocent, loving creature. Then again, if someone has the capacity to kill a person, perhaps shooting a dog means nothing to them.
Still, it adds another chilling layer to the brutality of the attack and underscores the pure malice behind the violence that shattered the Hortman home.
Dog shot during Minnesota lawmaker's murder put down days after attack https://t.co/34SbvlKtFf
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 17, 2025
Minnesota House Rep. Erin Koegel, a colleague and friend to Melissa Hortman, wrote about Gilbert’s death in a social media post: “Her children had to put him down after learning their parents had been murdered. Gilbert wasn’t going to survive. Melissa loved that dog. She trained him as a service dog. He flunked out of school and she was so happy he failed so he could stay! She needed him in heaven with her.”
Rep. Erin Koegel, who has been a member of the Minnesota House since 2017, said on X that one of the first things their children had to do after learning their parents had been murdered was put down the family dog.https://t.co/eqid42y075
— FOX 28 Columbus (@fox28columbus) June 17, 2025
Gilbert was clearly known — and loved — by Hortman’s other House colleagues as well. According to Koegel, during a safety meeting after the shootings, the House sergeant-at-arms told members that Gilbert had to be put down.
Fox News reported that the Hortmans’ adult children issued a statement on Monday night saying, “one way to keep their parent’s memory alive would be to: ‘Pet a dog. A golden retriever is ideal, but any will do.'”
The Minnesota Star Tribune also reported the news of Gilbert’s death. The article was titled “Gilbert, the Hortmans’ golden retriever, was ‘too happy-go-lucky’ to be a service dog.”
The report said that the Hortmans were involved with Helping Paws, a non-profit dog rescue in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Hortman volunteered to foster Gilbert as she trained him to be a service dog. According to the Star Tribune:
Gilbert, the four-year-old golden retriever trained by Rep. Melissa Hortman to be a service dog, was too friendly for a working dog’s life. So, he became the family pet, much to Hortman’s delight.
“A lot of dogs just want to be around people — all people — a wonderful trait that Gilbert shared, but a less desirable attribute in service dogs, who need to focus on one person,” said Alyssa Golob, executive director of the nonprofit Helping Paws, which trains and places service animals with the help of volunteers like the Hortmans.
While I love all dogs, there are no dogs quite like goldens. Their joyful spirits are infectious. [Most of my dogs have been goldens!]
And Gilbert sounds like a gem. God bless him.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn or X.
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Comments
Kristi Noem wants to comment here:
In 2012, as the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney was pilloried for tying a dog, Seamus, to the roof of the family car for a cross-country trip.
But in 2024 Kristi Noem, a strong contender to be named running mate to Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has managed to go one step further – by admitting to killing a dog of her own.
If you want someone to kill your beloved dog, contact Kristi Noem.
On this site, this idiot goes by the moniker of “JR.” He masquerades as a Republican but is actually a lefty. He regularly gets plungered.
On Althouse, he goes by the moniker of “lonejustice.” He masquerades as a Republican but is actually a lefty. He regularly gets flogged.
On Powerline (a site he likes to mention), his Disqus moniker is “Eric Klein.” He also masquerades as a Republican. He gets constantly face-punched.
He thinks posts like this make him seem witty.
Even for a troll, posts like this just make you look stupid, Junior. Or Eric, if you prefer.
Eric the half-bee?
“Half-wit” is more accurate I think.
You don’t need a bee license for that…
I think it’s “Eric the half-a bee”?🤔
I don’t know about masquerading as a Republican…. But he sure presents as a unhappy, bitter, miserable lack wit
He does that frequently, especially at Althouse. He gets blasted every time he makes lame posts like these.
“Lack wit”
A beautiful phrase that deserves more usage. 🙂
Is it maybe “son of a bee”?
Grew up on a farm. A dog is a tool. Worthless dog must be put down.
She killed a vicious dog they was hard to control and was attacking livestock. There ARE bad dogs and herd was one of them.
herS
I have bred dogs and cats most of my life, an unfortunate part of that is having to put some animals down.
Off your meds again I see…
What a douchebag. I’ve had to put down a family dog twice and it is not enjoyable but sometimes has to be done.
Trump supporting white conservative male Repbulcans have no qualms about engaging in political assassinations of the their Democrat opponents, and they also want to kill your dogs. So arm yourselves accordingly.
Boelter’s politics haven’t yet been revealed, retard, so you’re categorically wrong.
And what political party is a “Repbulcan” a member of?
“So arm yourselves accordingly.” Wow, you finally gonna chamber a round in that little .380 you claim to carry? Pleasepleaseplease wave it around in front of the cops.
Looks like “Joe Biden Disease” has finally caught up with you.
His wife works for waltz and he was appointed to a position too
I think we know what kind of crazy he was
Yeah. Political assassination attempts seem to be mainly the province of Democrats.
You’d think Junior, a card-carrying Democrat, would know that.
But he’s stupid.
Well, consider Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) who was a conservative Republican American domestic terrorist who masterminded and perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing itself killed 167 people (including 19 children), injured 684 people, and destroyed one-third of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Yes, political assassinations to you seem to be mostly the province of Democrats. Grow up and face reality.
McVeigh was an anti-government radical, and was absolutely not a conservative, you idiot.
Yes indeed. Political assassinations are mostly the province of Democrats.
In the immortal words of SGT Barnes: “I AM reality, you retard.”
Shut up, Eric, er, Junior, er Lonejustice, er retard.
No one here is interested in your stupid copy/paste garbage.
38, really dumb choice.
The idiot brags about carrying a Glock 42, which is a .380;
No one I know brags about a .380.
Very few of the people I’ve met brag about what they carry, at all.
Unless they actually are compensating for something.
You lying trollbot.
Timothy McVeigh was not a conservative anything. He was anti-federal government. Read a book, or keep your comments to yourself, please.
Weren’t you the one who claimed that Powerline had reported the shooter was a registered Republican, when in fact it had done the exact opposite and debunked that rumor?
Why yes. Yes, he was.
So you advocate killing people to defend animals?
“It takes a special kind of evil to shoot a golden retriever. It’s hard to fathom how anyone could harm such an innocent, loving creature.”
I couldn’t agree more.
ABOLISH THE ATF.
ABOLISH KRISTI NOEM! SHE SHOOTS FAMILY DOGS AND BRAGS ABOUT IT. SAVE OUR DOGS!
The dog was a hunting dog, not a family dog, retard. There’s a difference.
If you actually knew anything at all, you’d know that.
You’re just here to be an asshole.
Busting your chops has provided some cheap entertainment for many of us, but you’ve progressed to the point where you’re now unbalanced and mentally ill.
I have no further wish to participate in your descent into full-blown insanity.
I’ll leave you to your fantasies.
Dog wasn’t earning its keep…. bye bye. Just imagine if that was extended to dead beat humans?
“ It takes a special kind of evil to shoot a golden retriever.”
Law enfarcement has done it during no-knock raids.
thats dogism for ya
More like ‘gun and badge ism’ combined with far too easily granted ‘qualified immunity’. Doesn’t even have to be at the criminals address or one of the far too frequent raids on a ‘wrong address’. If LEO chases a fleeing suspect and he jumps/climbs the fence into your backyard and the LEO jumps in they can and often do shoot any dog who comes to investigate the strangers in the yard aka doing his dang job.
We had this happen when I was in HS. Had a beautiful German Shepard AKA registered/great bloodlines; named Bear after Bear Bryant. I grew up with GSD in the home as an infant. This particular GSD was presented to me as a pup on my 16th Bday and about 14 months old. Cops chased the dude into our yard and Bear trees him in a Magnolia. My father was the Attorney for the Sheriff at the time and the Cops knew him and knew his office was less than five minutes away with traffic about 1 and 1/2 mile next to the Court House. The called Dad and he came and retrieved Bear, who wasn’t letting anyone get close to ‘his’ capture in the tree. Didn’t threaten the LEO, just growled if they came close to his prize b/c he was waiting for me, my Mom or Dad to give his release command. If circumstances were different and Dad wasn’t known to LEO or an Attorney and former LEO himself I suspect they would have shot Bear out of hand b/c it was easier/more convenient. It happens all too often stemming from IMO insanely generous deference to ‘officer safety’ and qualified immunity.
yeah my belief is that any officer is. given the power to use that weapon and many times they use it just b/c they can…no doubt
the immunity imho has been slowly punctured mostly b/c of poc threats towards leo
but until the actual officer and/or white collars have to pay the settlements from their own pockets,, as opposed to the tax payers paying up,, business as usual
it takes a certain kind of coward TO NOT SHOOT AN OUT OF CONTROL DOG
when you have been trained, as Kristi was, on how to handle an out of control animal
It takes a real coward to shoot innocent people and/or animals
Had list of 70 “targets”.
Shoots four people not on the list.
If I were on a jury, I’d say I haven’t seen any evidence against Boelter.
I love dogs and have one. But it is possible the dog was shot in the act of protecting its family.
Yes… but it was shot by a violent criminal, in the act of protecting its family from that same violent criminal. So I don’t see where the criminal gets a pass for that.
If I were a MAGA assassin, I’d definitely target people who were being celebrated by MAGA.
They weren’t being celebrated by MAGA, at least not any MAGA who actually knew anything about what they were talking about. They had no change of heart, or attack of conscience. They gritted their teeth and voted as they had agreed to vote, as their end of a deal with the Republicans to pass the budget. When you’re a party leader and are involved in such negotiations sometimes you have to do that.
The Republicans who, as the price of passing this bill had to vote in their turn for a Dem bill, were gritting their teeth just as much. And being called “traitors” by idiots on their side, while not being celebrated by anyone on the Dem side.
Well, sounds like the Lefty lunatic thought he was part of the ATF
noem rushed to a dc hospital!
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/06/17/kristi-noem-rushed-to-hospital-after-allergic-reaction/
if noem was in a restaurant when that “allergic” reaction happened I’d say possible immigrant /supporter f’d her food!
Allergic or poison? Get a food sample before destroyed.
I haven’t seen any reports attributing the reaction to food at all, let alone that she was in a restaurant. That would be pure speculation.
I agree, but one has to be certain.
it is pure speculation
Police and the FBI do this all the time.
if you are saying that the pd does this regardless of any threat of harm to themselves
or others
then I’d agree that is cowardice
but where has that happened?
anytime an animal is around a “situation” the animals are known and loved for their behavior towards those they dont know or might be aggressive
that doesnt mean the cop shot the animal for no reason
It happens routinely. It seems to be standard operating procedure in many law enforcement squads that when raiding a home the first thing you do is shoot the dog.
well
they shoot horses
dont they???
Happens far too often and until we get a change of heart by the LE Agency Leadership, an unlikely legislative change (can’t risk being seen by voters as not supporting the FoP,) or the ‘perfect’ case to pierce qualified immunity and the far too generous deference to claims of ‘officer safety’ it will continue.
Ruby Ridge comes to mind. Shoot the dog, shoot the kid, shoot the wife/mother. All at point blank range. At least the kid got off a shot at the black ninja clad US Marshals who had NO identification on their uniforms. Yep, when the government wants you dead, good luck surviving. Epstein is not available for comment no matter what Patel says.
ATF famously stomped a kitten, while they were LEAVING, after a raid on Harry and Theresa Lamplugh, May 25, 1994.
The agent who stomped the kitten was a FEMALE: Donna Slusser.
As always, no government thugs were punished during this production.
if true she is scum of course
More than Just Collateral Damage: Pet Shootings by Police
In one recent case, an officer missed a pet dog twice and instead permanently maimed a 10yo child lying on the grass beyond it. The family and pet involved were not resisting or acting aggressively, and were not even the target of the officer’s attentions — he was pursuing an unrelated suspect through their yard, a suspect they had already successfully apprehended before the shooting occurred. The officer was granted qualified immunity and the shoot was ruled “good.”
He should get “enhanced” punishment for mortally wounding the dog. Three counts murder.
Heck just add the easy low hanging fruit of a charge of animal cruelty.
It takes a special kind of evil to shoot a golden retriever.
Not as evil as it takes to shoot a human being.
Depends on what the human being is. I can think of plenty of dogs I wouldn’t shoot first.