Lily Allen says she faced 'death threats' after revealing she returned her dog to shelter
Lily Allen has spoken of a "really tough few days" involving receiving death threats online, after it emerged she returned her puppy to a dog shelter in 2021.
On Saturday, animal rights charity PETA published an open letter to the British singer, after she shared a story on her podcast about getting rid of a dog she adopted in the pandemic which chewed her family's passports.
PETA said in a post on X: "Lily, please don't treat dogs as accessories to be discarded when they become inconvenient. It's not fair and it's really not ok.
"We’re sending Lily a mechanical toy dog, which requires none of the round-the-clock care a real-life puppy does."
In response to the criticism, Allen said on Sunday: "People have been furiously reacting to a deliberately distorted cobbling together of quotes designed to make people angry and as a result, I've received some really abhorrent messages including death threats."
She described how puppy Mary developed severe separation anxiety and could not be left alone, which led the family to work with a behavioral specialist and professional trainer.
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The rehoming happened with someone who was known to Allen, she explained, a process which happened within 24 hours of her being returned to the shelter.
"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 said.
Allen lives in New York with her husband David Harbour, an actor and star of hit Netflix show Stranger Things.
In an episode of her podcast Miss Me?, Allen told listeners how they were considering adopting another puppy but were hesitant to do so because of their prior experiences.
The singer has two children with ex-husband Sam Cooper, who is based in the UK.
She said: "[The dog] 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 absolutely logistical nightmare.
"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 their passports."I just couldn't look at her. I was like, 'You've ruined my life'."
Allen said the response to her anecdote was "very distressing", and said she had never before been accused of mistreating animals.
She urged people to avoid "clickbait articles" and to exercise due diligence when reading content about her online.
Responding directly to PETA, the star posted on X: "Also thank you to PETA for adding fuel to the fire. Very responsible of you."
ITV News has reached out to PETA, MailOnline and Allen's representatives for comment.
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