Anais Gutierrez
Lena Dunham is under fire from the Brooklyn Animal Rescue Coalition, BARC, after she sent her dog Lamby to The Zen Dog. A facility that aims to change behavioral issues in dogs.
The “Girls” creator took to Instagram to clear the air about the issue and got caught in a feud with a BARC representative.
Dunham is defending herself after the controversy
Lena Dunham took Instagram on Thursday to defend herself amid public backlash.
The actress and writer found herself in a controversy after she opened up about her rescue dog, Lamby. Who wasn’t living with her and her boyfriend anymore, Dunham decided to send Lamby to a rehabilitation center to treat his aggressive behavior.
However, Lena has been heavily criticized for dissing Lamby, as some consider. And, on top of that, a BARC shelter representative shared some controversial information regarding the dog. So, on Thursday, Lena took to Instagram to clear the air. She shared a painting of Lamby along with a heartfelt writing.
“It’s come to my attention that the staff at the shelter where I adopted Lamby have a very different account of his early life and behavioral issues than I do. While I’m sorry to have disappointed them, I can’t apologize,” she wrote.
She went on explaining the difficulties of living with Lamby and highlighting his aggressive behavior and particular issues. “I did what I thought the best mother would do, which was to give him a life that provided for his specific needs,” wrote Dunham, who disabled the comments.
She also addressed BARC’s comments. “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.”
In conclusion, the native New Yorker wrote, “I have weathered a lot of micro-scandals but this one hurts MOST, because of the vulnerability of letting people know Lamby and my story, and because I miss him so damn much.”
The BARC controversy
Lena’s post came after on July 6, Robert Vazquez, a spokesman for Brooklyn’s BARC no-kill animal shelter, denied Dunham’s dog was ever abused. As she has previously stated.
“When she adopted the dog from us, it wasn’t crazy,” Vazquez said. “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 said he personally was there “the four times Lena visited Lamby” prior to the adoption.
“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?” he said.
“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 the dogs,” he added. BARC has a provision in its adoption papers stating that if things don’t work out with a rescue pet, it must be returned to the original organization rather than be re-homed, as Dunham did.
Vazquez also took issue with Dunham’s debuting two new puppies on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” in February, a month before she claims to have surrendered Lamby to his new home.
“[She] didn’t admit she bought her two new dogs [despite writing in the] New Yorker that dogs shouldn’t be dumped or thrown away because they have feelings,” Vazquez said
So what’s the deal with Lamby?
It all started two weeks ago when the creator and star of HBO’s “Girls” announced via Instagram that her rescue dog, Lamby, no longer lives with her in Brooklyn and L.A.
“But I feel I have to share that last March, after four years of challenging behavior and aggression that could not be treated with training or medication or consistent loving dog ownership, Lamby went to live at an amazing professional facility in Los Angeles.”
This little dog became a celebrity in his own right. He even had his own Instagram account and appeared in Vogue with Dunham’s “Girls” co-star, Adam Driver. Lamby was sent to the Zen Dog, a canine rehabilitation center, before he was re-homed.
“Lamby suffered terrible abuse as a pup that made having him in a typical home environment dangerous to him and others,” said Dunham, who has two poodles with JackAntonoff.
“If you have a similar situation, please know its possible to responsibly re-home your rescue rather than sending them back into the shelter system. It can require patience, diligence and often a financial contribution but there are solutions that leave everyone happy and safe,” she added.
“You will always have been your dog’s first stop outside shelter life and that’s beautiful.”
Source: Forward
