Dogs are forever, not just for Christmas: this is a saying we’ve all heard at one point in our lives, but singer Lily Allen didn’t get the memo.
When you adopt a little fuzzy friend, it can be hard to adjust your life around their needs and also remember that those little teeth like to chew.
From cables to rugs, puppies are a nightmare to your home for the first few weeks until they become more aware of what they can and can’t do.
However, there was one thing this pooch did which was the last straw for the Smile singer.
When Allen brought home a puppy for her kids, Ethel, 13 and Marnie, 11, during the COVID pandemic, she probably thought the dog would be with them for life.
Lily Allen returned their puppy Mary. (its_marys_world/Instagram)
That was until Mary (the pup) chewed up her passports, which led to dire consequences.
The singer then decided it was time to send Mary to an adoption shelter, which led animal charity, PETA, to lose it on her and send her a savage gift in response.
The 39-year-old was quick to receive a letter from the organization and a little toy.
How bad can a toy be, right?
Wrong.
It was a mechanical dog toy with the accompanying words from Elisa Allen at the charity who wrote: “It really is the only animal you should bring into your home. Dogs should never be treated as accessories to be discarded when they become inconvenient.”
Allen, who lives in New York with Stranger Things star David Harbour, 49, and her kids discussed the events leading up to ditching the dog on the Miss Me? podcast.
The singer told her friend and the Miquita Oliver: “She was a very badly behaved dog and I 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.”
Peta sent the singer a scathing letter and toy. (BBC Sounds/ Lilyallen/ Instagram)
In the August 22 episode, she had brought the dog home ‘but then it ate my passport, and so I took her back to the home.’
She explained: “She ate all 3 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.”
There was also the issue that her children’s father Sam Cooper, Allen’s ex-husband, lives in England and it meant that the kids couldn’t see their dad for months because the ‘f***ing dog had eaten the passports.’
That’s when Allen told the pup, ‘You ruined my life,’ and was adamant that the dog was ‘very badly behaved’ and ‘t just didn’t work out.’
The kicker, however, was that Allen is still attempting to adopt another dog and hopes to bring home a Chihuahua mix soon for her kids, who have already picked out the name Jude Bellingham for the upcoming addition to the family.
In response to Allen trying to bring home another dog, PETA’s Vice President Allen wrote in her letter: “While you could get new passports and rebook your flights, Mary may spend many months in the shelter waiting for a new family – if she’s lucky enough to find one at all.
“Anyone who knows and loves dogs understands that it’s likely a dog will at some point, chew up something in the home. Dogs often explore the world by putting things in their mouths – it’s natural.
“Lily could have put her important documents in a drawer.
“Dogs are loyal companions who deserve the same unwavering love and commitment they offer us. It’s for this reason that we beg lily please, not to get another dog.
“Instead, we’ve sent lily a mechanical toy puppy which requires none of the care, patience, or commitment that a real one does.”
UNILAD reached out to PETA and Lily Allen’s representatives for comment.