What happened to Lamby? The question Lena Dunham addressed last month on Instagram after followers started noticing they saw less and less of her beloved rescue dog has become quite the tangled web.
She revealed she had to re-home Lamby last March because of "challenging behaviour and aggression that could not be treated with training or medication or consistent loving dog ownership."
Dunham's admission that she had brought Lamby to Zen Dog, a canine rehabilitation center in Los Angeles, led to criticism and allegations that she was a bad dog owner. Robert Vazquez, a spokesman for Brooklyn's BARC no-kill animal shelter where Dunham adopted Lamby, told Yahoo Style that the pup was never abused. "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," he said. Now friends, journalists in the know, and Lamby's current landlord have come to her defence.
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Yesterday, journalist Taffy Akner tweeted that Dunham was a good dog owner and gave some substantial evidence as to how she knew that. "To those asking about how I could possibly know that Lena Dunham was a good dog owner, please witness my only-ever Marshall McLuhan moment," she tweeted. "My sister was her vet." Cue the gasps.
Ackner revealed that her sister Tracy Akner was hired to "treat the dog's aggression. She made house calls. She saw the damage. You're all idiots for what you did to her yesterday."
For those who question how the shelter didn't know Lamby had behavioural problems before letting Dunham adopt the dog, Akner tweeted that according to her sister "A shelter doesn't see the aggression. It only happens when the owner brings the animal home" and that this actually happens a lot.
My sister was her vet.
— Taffy Akner (@taffyakner) July 8, 2017
According to her, this happens a lot. A shelter doesn't see the aggression. It only happens when the owner brings the animal home.
— Taffy Akner (@taffyakner) July 8, 2017
Sia also tweeted her support, writing, "I'll say I watched her pour her heart and soul into lamby, and she did the right thing! Lamby is so happy now!"
In support of my @lenadunham I'll say I watched her pour her heart and soul into lamby, and she did the right thing! Lamby is so happy now!
— sia (@Sia) July 8, 2017
Dunham's boyfriend Jack Antonoff weighed in on the Lamby debacle tweeting, "Nobody on earth cares for or loved lamby more than Lena. After her bit her father and her twice, we found a trainer who deals with aggressive dogs who he now lives happily with."
nobody on earth cares for or loved lamby more than lena. after her bit her father and her twice we found a trainer who deals with aggressive
— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) July 7, 2017
dogs who he now lives happily with. was a deeply hard decision.
— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) July 7, 2017
Those looking for proof can look to Lamby's new owner Dani Shay, who thanked Dunham on Instagram for being a "dedicated parent/angel to him." She also mentioned that Lamby still "drink[s] from 'the golden tap' now and then, but that's our weird little boy!"
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Shay said she had also had to re-home a pet of hers, a pitbull named Honey, and had hesitated to talk about it, concerned how people would judge her. She spoke out, though, because she wanted others to know that Lamby is in good hands. "So thanks again for sharing Lamby with me," Shay wrote. "And being his first home out of the shelter. He is loved, learning new things, and cracking me and my friends up all the time. I adore him."
Dunham, who now has two poodles, Karen and Susan, has also defended herself against BARC's claims. She wrote on Instagram last week, "While I'm sorry to have disappointed them, I can't apologise. Lamby was and is one of the great loves of my life. When I met him I knew we'd have an amazing journey. But his aggression — which was unpredictable — and his particular issues, which remain myriad, weren't manageable, at least not by me."
Dunham said she did what "any mother would do" and found a good home for her dog. She then asked anyone criticising her decision to "imagine the incredible pain of letting go of your favourite creature on EARTH because you know you can't help them be healthy and happy."
As a final note, she wrote, "I know I'm a lot of fun to place your issues on, but I won't let anyone hang their hat on this peg. Not this time."
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