Lily Allen was slammed for re-homing her 'badly behaved' dog. But it wasn't the full story.

Lily Allen was buried under an Internet pile-on this week. But she's fighting back.

On Thursday, Allen was speaking about animal adoption on an episode of her Miss Me? podcast with her guest co-host Steve Jones, a Welsh television presenter. Allen said she and her family were considering adopting a Chihuahua mix puppy soon. 

During their conversation, Allen mentioned that she had previously adopted a puppy they named Mary during the pandemic back in 2021. Mary was rescued from a dog shelter. 

"We actually did adopt a dog together already. But then it ate my passport, so I took it back to the home," she began.

Watch: A message for dogs. Post continues below.

The puppy's poor behaviour had caused havoc in Allen's New York home, which she shares with her actor husband David Harbour, and her children Ethel, 13 and Marnie, 11.

"She [Mary] ate all three of our passports. They had our visas in [there], and I can't tell you how much it cost to get everything replaced."

Replacing the passports was "an absolute logistical nightmare," Allen explained, saying it caused her daughters to delay visiting their father, Sam Cooper, who lives in England, for five months. 

"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 was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak."

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Then the backlash came flooding in. There were death threats. Cruel taunts. Even comparisons were made between Allen and Adolf Hitler. 

You are acting like a spoiled child.

You deserve no animals.

Death to you.

Even Hitler was nice to dogs.

Animal rights charity PETA then published an open letter to Allen.

"Dogs are a lifetime commitment, #LilyAllen! It's NOT FAIR to treat them like accessories to discard when they're inconvenient!" part of the letter read. 

PETA then sent a kid's stuffed toy mechanical puppy to Allen, adding: "This really is the only animal you should be bringing into your home."

But Allen wasn't having any of it.

Over the weekend, she made several posts on X clarifying why she decided to re-home their dog, and why the hate she has been receiving is one step too far.

"Thank you to PETA for adding fuel to the fire. I've clarified that we didn't abandon her and that she was rehomed with people we knew almost immediately," she explained.

"Why are you [PETA] perpetuating lies? What kind of animal welfare charity tries to shame someone for wanting to improve the welfare of an animal? Your post is dangerous."

People laugh when they talk about painful things all the time, it’s quite normal. I’ve clarified that we didn’t abandon her and that she was rehomed with people we knew almost immediately. Why are you perpetuating lies ? What kind of animal welfare charity tries to shame someone… https://t.co/SLORFjFauN

— Lily Allen (@lilyallen) August 26, 2024

Allen then further clarified her reasonings.

She noted that Mary had "pretty severe separation anxiety" and couldn't be left alone for more than 10 minutes.

"She had three long walks a day by us and one walk with a local dog walker and several other dogs. We worked with the shelter that we rescued her from and they referred us to a behavioural specialist and a professional trainer. It was a volunteer from the shelter who would come and dog sit her when we were away, and after many months and much deliberation, everyone was in agreement that our home wasn't the best fit for Mary," she noted on X.

"People have been furiously reacting to a deliberately distorted cobbling together of quotes designed to make people angry. As a result, I've received some really abhorrent messages including death threats.

"It has been a really tough few days that has impacted me and my family."

Allen reiterated that Mary was re-homed to people known to Allen within 24 hours of the dog 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. I've had rescue dogs pretty consistently throughout my life since I was four years old, I'm pretty good at ascertaining a dog's needs, I have never been accused of mistreating an animal, and I've found this whole week very distressing."

Feature Image: Instagram @lilyallen / @its_marys_world.