Lena Dunham is doggone driven to prove she gave up her dog of four years, Lamby, because of his behavioral issues, and no one, not even the animal shelter she adopted him from, will shame her into admitting otherwise.
On Thursday night, Dunham shared an illustration of her formerly beloved Lamby on Instagram with a lengthy caption defending her decision to relocate him after years of behavioral treatment and financial support, but not without bashing him for his “myriad problems.”
“His aggression – which was unpredictable- and his particular issues, which remain myriad, weren’t manageable, at least not by me,” Dunham wrote.
Last month, Dunham had announced on the ‘gram that she had relocated Lamby to a professional facility in March to be treated for trauma that she herself couldn’t address. Dunham wrote that Lamby suffered from abuse as a puppy, and would lash out randomly at her and her boyfriend Jack Antonoff.
However, Dunham’s broken silence on the matter came hours after a spokesperson of the shelter she adopted Lamby from told Yahoo Celebrity that their records indicated Lamby had been given up by his previous owner for not having time to take care of him.
“We checked the records for Lamby … so we do not know where she got ‘multiple owners that abused the dog,'” Robert Vazquez with the BARC Shelter in Broolyn, New York said. “When she adopted the dog from us, it wasn’t crazy. I have pictures of the dog loving on Lena and her mom, which is weird if the dog was abused. It wouldn’t be cuddling with her or be in the bed with her ‘boyfriend’ in the pages of Vogue.”
Vazquez, who said he’s been in charge of BARC’s dogs for the past 15 years, said he was at the facility four times Lena had visited Lamby before adopting him.
“If Lamby had a bad past or was abused, do you think BARC would have adopted him to Lena knowing she’s a new star and put her—or the dog—in that situation? We would have told her if the dog had issues. We are a no-kill shelter. We don’t lie about the dogs’ histories because that gets them returned — and mentally it’s not good for dogs,” Vazquez said. “It’s just hard to believe the dog was nasty when she took Lamby to every green room with her when Girls was still a thing four years ago.”
However, a source close to Dunham told Yahoo Celebrity that she had Lamby checked out by multiple vets, and that they were the ones who diagnosed Lamby as suffering from past abuse, and even possible brain damage.
Despite Vazquez’s biting tone, Dunham pushed back in her post, writing, “While I’m sorry to have disappointed [the shelter], I can’t apologize.” She called the “micro-scandal” surrounding her surrender of Lamby hurtful, insisting that critics wouldn’t be able to blame their “issues” on her this time around.
“I would never say an unkind word about the staff of BARC, what they do is amazing and life saving for these animals- but we have different accounts of Lamby’s behavior and they were not present in my home nor did they live with him for an extended period. They did not witness the consistent and responsible care I provided,” Dunham wrote.
Sorry, Lamby. Guess this one’s still on you, bud.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWObiEUlHju/?taken-by=lenadunham
H/T @mekosoff