Outraged Lily Allen slams 'dangerous' Peta after she gave up her dog (2024)

Lily Allen has responded to recent controversy after revealing she sent a puppy back when the pet chewed up her children’s passports.

In the latest episode, of the podcast titled Miss Me? which Lily hosts with Miquita Oliver, 40, she revealed that she once returned her adopted pet puppy after an incident that meant she was unable to even ‘look at her’.

The controversial story was told on her podcast last week when Lily told guest co-host Steve Jones, 47, of T4 fame: ‘You know what, we actually did adopt a dog already, but then it ate my passport and so I took her back to the home.’

The confession sparked serious backlash from fans, and animal rights organisation Peta sent the singer a mechanical toy dog with a note that read: ‘It really is the only animal you should bring into your home.’

‘While you could get new passports and rebook your flights, Mary [the dog] may spend many months in the shelter waiting for a new family – if she’s lucky enough to find one at all,’Peta’s Vice President Elisa Allensaid in her letterto Lily.

‘They should never be treated as accessories to be discarded when they become inconvenient.’

The group didn’t stop there and took to X calling out the singer for her actions: ‘YOU laughed when speaking about abandoning Mary and ruined this poor dog’s life. She thought she had a loving forever home before you tossed her out, calling her “that f******* dog” who “ruined my life.” Shame on you. You don’t deserve even the toy dog we sent you.’

Lily has since hit back at the group, claiming they are sending a ‘dangerous’ message and should not ‘shame’ a person who is trying to give their animal a better life.

Addressing her laughter about the situation, the singer said it’s ‘normal’ for people to laugh when talking about ‘painful things’ and clarified that she and her family ‘didn’t abandon her’.

‘She was rehomed with people we knew almost immediately,’ Lily said. ‘Why are you perpetuating lies? What kind of animal welfare charity tries to shame someone for wanting to improve the welfare of an animal?’

She signed off her response with: ‘Your post is dangerous.’

Fans were quick to share their views, with one person, Mule Britannia, writing that after the singer’s explanation, ‘I am much more sympathetic to her position and think she did the right thing’.

GarfieldUtd wrote: ‘How dare we try to improve an animal’s welfare and then get shamed for it by a supposed animal welfare charity.’

However, not everyone agreed, and d_a_v_e_m_a said, ‘Please never get another dog, Lily. You clearly can’t handle a wee bit of a challenge.’

JackieMeek6 added: ‘Ps Dogs have feelings too Lily remember that next time you want a new toy’.

Lily also took to X and Instagram over the weekend explain the situation further after being hounded with backlash.

‘”We tried very hard and for a very long time but the passports were the straw that broke the camel’s back.” This is the part of the podcast that the tabloids decided not to quote in their articles about me “dumping my puppy”.’

She went on to add that she had received some ‘abhorrent messages including death threats’ and it had been a ‘tough few days’.

She went on to confirm that the puppy she discussed in the story was Mary, a dog she rescued from a shelter in New York with her husband David Harbour.

She then detailed the pet’s separation anxiety and added that she met with a behavioural specialist and a professional trainer and deliberated for months before taking Mary back.

‘The person that she was rehomed with was known to us and that rehoming happened within 24 hours of her being returned.

‘We couldn’t meet Mary’s needs and her happiness and welfare were central to us making that decision, as difficult as it was.’

She then added that she found the ‘whole week very distressing’ and encouraged fans to stop engaging with these ‘toxic’ negative stories.

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In the podcast that sparked the controversy, Lily said: ‘She ate all three of our passports and they had our visas in and I cannot tell you how much money it cost me to get everything replaced, because it was in Covid and so it was just an absolute logistical nightmare.’

She added that the incident also meant that her children, Ethel, 13, and Marnie, 11, were unable to see their father Sam Cooper who is based in the UK.

‘And because the father of my children lives in England, I couldn’t get them back to see their dad for like four months, five months, because this f***ing dog had eaten the passports. And I just couldn’t look at her. I was like “you’ve ruined my life”,’ she said, as she burst out laughing.

On a more sincere note, she then added: ‘Passports weren’t the only thing she ate.

‘She was a very badly behaved dog and I really tried very hard with her, but it just didn’t work out and the passports were the straw that broke the camel’s back so to speak.’

Lily’s comments about sending the puppy back and the lighthearted way in which she recalled the story have upset fans who insisted that she is ‘what’s wrong with the world’.

‘If ever you needed confirmation that Lily Allen is a truly awful human being it’s her getting rid of her dog because her own stupidity meant she left passports in a place that the dog could get to them,’ said mikelavelle93 on X.

‘This is awful. Lily Allen is a deeply unlikeable woman. If a puppy is “badly behaved” then perhaps she should have trained her. What an awful awful human,’ said vitt2tsnoc.

‘Lily Allen is all that’s wrong with the world, got a puppy, used it for likes on Instagram and then sent it back to the home because it chewed up her family passports that she left within its reach. Hopefully this pup found someone who deserves her,’ GoldenFerg963 said.

‘Lily Allen returned a puppy to the shelter after she made a whole a** Instagram account for Mary because it was a puppy and did puppy things and she was inconvenienced,’ ask_aubry added.

Fans have also shared images of their pets, emphasising that they see their dogs as members of their family and would never return them for misbehaving.

‘Meet Oscar. He ate a dining chair & broke 2 TV controls. He ripped his bedding, & waged war on our Dyson. He tore up our back garden, several shrubs, & the sprinklers. Last Xmas, he nicked his presents from under the tree & killed Santa. Lily Allen, he’s family – not disposable,’ said Che11eOfIreland.

‘My dog Jake once ate some gig tickets a mate had posted thru the door for a Chris Cornell solo show. Did we get rid of him? F**k no. He’s the best. He’s not responsible for his actions. B*****ks to Lily Allen,’ said WiggyPop1969

‘In her first year this absolute monster destroyed a small table, several letters, 2 pairs of new shoes, made the garden look like a nuclear test site, ruined a £100 rug, made holes in 80% of my clothes & shredded 17 million tissues. Thank god she ended up with me & not Lily Allen,’ said NicArmstrong_.

Despite the backlash, some have defended the singer saying it was the right decision to return the dog after realising she wasn’t suited to pet ownership at the time.

‘Not a fan of Lily Allen but good on her for realising a dog is not for her. Pity that more owners with ‘uncontrollable’ dogs don’t so the same. Apparently the new buzzword is ‘reactive’ still means out of control though,’ blazercarl said.

The RSPCA has guidance on giving up a pet and advises that although it should be a last resort, contacting the original seller or a rescue centre can be the right course of action if you realise you’re not suited to pet ownership.

In contrast, animal rights group Peta sent the singer a mechanical toy dog with a note that read: ‘It really is the only animal you should bring into your home.’

‘While you could get new passports and rebook your flights, Mary [the dog] may spend many months in the shelter waiting for a new family – if she’s lucky enough to find one at all,’ Peta’s Vice President Elisa Allensaid in her letter to Lily.

‘They should never be treated as accessories to be discarded when they become inconvenient.’

In the podcast, she added that she still planned to adopt another dog, revealing that her children want to name the chihuahua mix Jude Bellingham.

‘We maybe are getting a new puppy in the next couple of weeks,’ she revealed.

‘Me and the girls have been thinking about a name and we settled on Jude Bellingham.’

Metro.co.uk has reached out to Lily Allen’s representatives for comment.

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