Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Rescue Shelter Disputes Lena Dunham’s Claims That Her Former Dog Had Emotional Problems

I have a theory that, if one could prove definitively that the ACA repeal would hurt puppies, the Republicans would give up their efforts immediately. There’s no point in trying to pass legislation that hurts dogs — the American people would never stand for it.

Americans care about dogs more than they care about other people, and that’s why the latest news about Lena Dunham’s former rescue dog, Lamby, is so deeply disturbing.

In June, Dunham spoke frankly about her decision to give up her beloved mongrel, Lamby. She attributed the decision to “four years of challenging behavior and aggression that could not be treated with training or medication or consistent loving dog ownership” and called it “heartbreaking.”

But now, because nothing can just be easy in the life of a celeb, a spokesperson for the shelter from whence she adopted the pup is claiming differently.

Robert Vazquez of BARC Shelter in Brooklyn told Yahoo in an email, “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 also disputed Lena’s claims that Lamby had been raised in an abusive household, saying that the dog’s paperwork states that he had been given up because his previous owner didn’t have enough time.

A classic case of he said-she said, to be sure, but it seems unlikely that Dunham would have lied about having been bitten multiple times by Lamby. The star went so far as to provide graphic proof of her bloody injuries, via an Instagram post that I’ll refrain from sharing here. Is it possible that Dunham simply assumed that Lamby had come from an abusive home because of how often he liked to bite her? After all, dogs don’t hurt people. People who abuse dogs who then hurt people hurt people.

In the end, I suppose what’s important is that Lamby has a safe, loving home and a dependable health insurance plan.

Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter, @arr_scott

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.