Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is once again in the crosshairs of the animal-rights organization PETA after another questionable decision involving animals. This past week, Palin made headlines after a New Year’s Facebook post that showed her six-year-old son Trig, who has Down’s syndrome, standing on the family dog to help wash dishes. Response across social media was swift and pointed, with many accusing Palin of animal abuse.

“It’s odd that anyone — let alone a mother — would find it appropriate to post such a thing, with no apparent sympathy for the dog in the photo,” responded the organization after Palin’s post and photo went viral. “Then again, PETA, along with everyone else, is used to the hard-hearted, seeming obliviousness of this bizarrely callous woman, who actually thought it appropriate to be filmed while turkeys were being slaughtered right behind her in full view of the camera.”

The incident PETA refers to in their statement happened in 2008, as Palin pardoned a turkey on camera. In the shot, Palin appears oblivious to a man standing behind her feeding live turkeys into a machine.

Palin seemed to double down when faced with the criticism in a statement.

“They’re not attacking me because I showed people a special needs child and his happy, healthy, beloved service dog; they’re attacking me because, well, I’m me,” wrote the former Alaskan governor.

She added, “So what’s new? PETA throws raw meat in front of their attack dogs and says sic ’em, and we have a choice in how to react to these kind of haters who’ll keep on hating. We either accept their attacks as stumbling blocks, or see them as stepping stones to make a point about truth.”