The saga of Lena Dunham and her beloved dog Lamby has taken some awkward turns in the past few months. Once a fixture of Dunham’s social posts and media appearances, even appearing in a Vanity Fair photo shoot with the Girls creator, the dog had disappeared from view and seemingly replaced by a pair of poodle pups. The new dogs accompanied Dunham to The Tonight Show back in February, but folks still had questions about Lamby.
Well fans finally got an answer on June 21st via an Instagram post, with Dunham explaining that Lamby was just too much to handle and had to an “amazing professional facility” in Los Angeles that more suited to deal with the dog’s needs. This would include the moment where Lamby apparently bit Dunham on the rear, prompting her to share her bloody underwear online. She also added the troubling note that Lamby had a history of abuse before she adopted him:
Lamby suffered terrible abuse as a pup that made having him in a typical home environment dangerous to him and others- we needed to be responsible to ourselves, our neighbors and especially our beloved boy. Jack and I will miss him forever but sometimes when you love something you have to let it go
This would be a sad end to what seemed to be an adorable relationship, but not all is as it seems according to the no-kill shelter in Brooklyn where Dunham adopted Lamby. The BARC Shelter is telling a different story that seems to bring Dunham’s point of view into question, with spokesman Robert Vazquez not mincing words when speaking with Yahoo Celebrity:
“He was ‘owner surrendered, not enough time,’ so we do not know where she got ‘multiple owners that abused the dog.’” (In her New Yorker piece from March 2013, Dunham said the dog had “three other homes, three other names, but now he’s mine mine mine.”)
“When she adopted the dog from us, it wasn’t crazy,” Vazquez continued. “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 also casts doubt on Dunham’s claims that Lamby had been abused by previous owners, pointing to her celebrity status and the shelter’s standards as barriers that would’ve prevented a dog with Lamby’s alleged history ending up in that type of situation:
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.”
The real sting of the comment from BARC comes when Vazquez questions the dog’s alleged nastiness, saying things seemed fine when Dunham took “Lamby to every green room with her when Girls was still a thing 4 years ago.” That might not be intended to be a jab, but it certainly reads like one.
Dunham responded to the shelter’s claims with another Instagram post, saying she has a different account of Lamby’s past than the shelter does and that they did not live in her home to see how much she cared for the dog before deciding to give it up:
While I’m sorry to have disappointed them, I can’t apologize. 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. I did what I thought the best mother would do, which was to give him a life that provided for his specific needs.
Dunham also asks why this situation is being faced with “scrutiny and anger,” saying it stands apart from other “micro-scandals” she has faced due to her feelings for the dog — highlighted by a painting that greets her when enters her home instead of the real dog. She was also defended by boyfriend Jack Antonoff in a series of Twitter posts, echoing her stance that they did everything possible for sending Lamby away to his new home:
https://twitter.com/jackantonoff/status/883394655496290308
https://twitter.com/jackantonoff/status/883394733157961729
https://twitter.com/jackantonoff/status/883394840959926272
The good thing here is that Lamby does indeed look happy and seems to be doing well at The Zen Dog in Los Angeles. The dog’s new home is also siding with Dunham in this situation, claiming the dog shows signs of trauma that the BARC shelter seems to be overlooking. No matter who is telling the truth in this situation, you have to hope that Lamby is doing well and continues to do well. You also have to hope that Dunham has a better relationship with her two new puppies, despite the weirdness of stories like this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVp1k32AYwQ/?taken-by=therealdanishay