September 2024

British pop star Lily Allen says she has received death threats after revealing she returned an adopted puppy because it ate her family’s passports. Animal rights charity PETA published an open letter to Allen saying it was “appalled” to hear she returned the dog, adding, that the pets “should never be treated as accessories to be discarded when they become inconvenient”. “It’s for this reason that we beg you, please, not to get another dog,” PETA added. Allen was speaking on an episode of her Miss Me? podcast on Thursday when she revealed she had adopted the dog during the COVID pandemic, before adding: “But then it ate my passport and so I took her back to the home.” Sharing an update in an Instagram story on Sunday, Allen said: “I have never been accused of mistreating an animal, and I’ve found this whole week very distressing.” She also criticised the reactions of social media users as “furiously reacting to a deliberately distorted cobbling together of quotes designed to make people angry”. Allen had mentioned on Thursday’s podcast that the pup, Mary, “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.” In her latest Instagram story, she wrote “this is the part of the podcast that the tabloids decided not to quote in their articles”. She adds: “I’ve received some really abhorrent messages including death threats, some of the most disgusting comments have been all over my social media channels, and I’m really not surprised because this is exactly what those articles are designed to do,” Allen wrote. “I’m OK but it has been a really tough few days that has impacted me and my family.” The story originally came up when she told guest podcast co-host Steve Jones, a Welsh TV presenter, that her family might adopt a Chihuahua mix puppy. She then told him about Mary after Jones asked whether she felt ready for the commitment of getting a dog with her husband, Stranger Things star David Harbour. Read more entertainment news Jenas admits to ‘inappropriate messages’ Slipknot member in hospital with ‘serious burns’ Animal rights charity ‘appalled’ at Lily Allen Instagram This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only. Allen, who lives in New York, said the pup ate her passport, as well as those of her two daughters, Ethel, 12, and Marnie, 11, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Sam Cooper. Replacing the passports was “an absolute logistical nightmare,” she said, causing her kids to delay visiting their father in England for four or five months. “I just couldn’t look at her. I was like, ‘You’ve ruined my life,’” she added with a laugh. In her Instagram story on Sunday, Allen recounted having adopted Mary from a shelter in New York. Even though she “loved her very much,” she wrote, her family struggled to accommodate the “pretty severe separation anxiety” Mary developed. Follow Sky News on WhatsApp Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News Tap here Allen wrote that the dog couldn’t be left alone for more than 10 minutes at a time and that her family worked with a behavioural specialist from the shelter who would dog-sit Mary when they were away. She added that “after many months and much deliberation everyone was in agreement that our home wasn’t the best fit for Mary, 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,” Allen continued. Read More

Plenty of owners try crate training with their dogs, but for one reason or another, they change their minds and decide against it. More often than not, the dogs don’t get into trouble. However, one dog owner learned that trouble occurred for one hour of the day. TikTok user @jasperthebigredlab and family thought their Labrador, Jasper, would be fine outside his crate. The pet cam showed they were right. They felt lucky as Jasper could settle without being in his crate. But once 5 a.m. hit, they learned they were mistaken. Jasper is what the family likes to call an “impatient early riser.” While everyone else sleeps, he is ready to start the day, which is captured on the pet cam. The July 27 TikTok video showed how his shenanigans will always start at 5 a.m. He’ll grab items that aren’t his like mail and books. Otherwise, he’s a perfect angel outside the crate. More From Newsweek Vault: Compare the Arlo Pro and Other Top Wireless Home Security Cameras Screenshots from a July 27 TikTok video of a dog getting into trouble outside the crate in the morning. The owner said he only does it in the morning while everyone is sleeping. @jasperthebigredlab/TikTok The caption reads: “If you’re wondering how crate training went for us.” “He’s so funny because if you look at the timestamps in the top left-hand corner, they’re all between 5 and 6 a.m., which we now call his ‘d******* hour,’” the owner told Newsweek via TikTok. “Any other time we leave him alone in the flat he’s sound!” More From Newsweek Vault: Compare Top Pet Insurance Plans For Dogs The owner said Jasper is still in this phase. But can you blame him? It’s not his fault he’s an early riser! “As long as we don’t leave things out that might intrigue him, then he’s OK!” the owner said. “He just gets bored when he first wakes up and wants attention.” TikToker Reactions The hilarious TikTok video had amassed nearly 600,000 views, 32,300 likes and 436 comments as of Thursday. Viewers were cracking up at this oh-so-relatable moment dog owners go through. More From Newsweek Vault: The Top Rewards Credit Cards for Pet Owners “He is a literature genius,” pointed out one person, while a second added: “Jasper’s brain: how many books can we eat? Jasper: yes.” “My puppy ate our camera so we couldn’t spy on him anymore,” commented a TikToker. A second came to Jasper’s defense and said: “Such a beautiful big boy, you have to forgive him.” Another added: “You just need to turn that camera off and pretend you did[n’t] see that lol.” Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup. Read More

2:01 Montreal man snaps back after getting $2,100 in fines for failing to leash dogs WATCH: A Montreal man is facing more than $2,000 in fines after being caught with his dogs off leash. He insists he should have every right to keep his dogs un-restrained since they have special needs.But as Global’s Phil Carpenter reports in this exclusive story, some beg to differ – Aug 29, 2024 Luciano Saracino’s 10 year old Siberian husky, Sky is blind. She has glaucoma. His other dog, Lalo, 9 a, a Saint-Pierre Labernese mix, has severe arthritis and doesn’t move around much. Saracino thinks old dogs like these who have special needs should be allowed to be off leash in a public place under certain circumstances. “The whole system is deeply flawed because it doesn’t take into account that the dogs are no threat to anybody,” he reasoned. In the City of Montreal, dogs are required to be on a 1.85 m leash, maximum, when in public, unless it’s a designated dog park. He says since his dogs are special needs and docile, he allows them off leash in secluded areas in parks near his home, away from people. “Because many of them have unfounded fears that the dogs are going to jump them and attack them,” he explained. Story continues below advertisement Saracino is now upset because in one month he was issued three tickets, each for nearly $700. The pet owner suspects he’s being targeted and harassed by a city employee. Get daily National news Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. “This fellow, the minute he sees us he pulls out his phone, he takes a picture and or film and calls the city,” he alleges. However, dog trainer Graham Smith, who says it’s not uncommon to see dogs off leash in public, cautions that people who do it. “Nine times of out 10, the tragedies that those stories encompass all start with, ‘My dog was off leash and normally my dog wouldn’t do this but that day …’ ” From his point of view, it’s not a good idea to make exceptions with the law. Trending Now “When we start making exceptions for one blind dog, well, what about the three-legged dog, and well what about this and what about that?” he asked. Some dog owners like Marie Barré agree that even though some dogs deserve an exception, giving it can can get complicated. “I believe if we’re going to go with the exception rule, I feel like it can kinda get out of control,” she pointed out. Saracino, meanwhile, believes exemptions can work, and plans to challenge the tickets in court. Story continues below advertisement 1:55 Montreal SPCA calling for help, overwhelmed with abandoned dogs ahead of moving day &copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Sponsored content Read More