Animal shelter disputes Lena Dunham's claims her dog was abused prior to adoption

The BARC no-kill animal shelter in Brooklyn, from which Girls star Lena Dunham adopted her dog, Lamby, is disputing the actress' claim that she gave the pet back due to "challenging behavior and aggression."

Dunham detailed her decision to bring her dog back to the shelter in an Instagram post: "A lot of you have been asking where Lamby is these days since he's always been the star of my gram and I've been posting pics of my poodle girls. Well, you know honesty is my jam but this one has been really heartbreaking to talk about. But I feel I have to share that last March, after four years of challenging behavior and aggression that could not be treated with training or medication or consistent loving dog ownership, Lamby went to live at an amazing professional facility in Los Angeles @matt_thezendog where an awesome person named @therealdanishay (who is educated in a rescue dog's specific trauma) loves him so hard."

The shelter took issue with the part of Dunham's claim that detailed the dog's history of abuse. "Lamby suffered terrible abuse as a pup that made having him in a typical home environment dangerous to him and others- we needed to be responsible to ourselves, our neighbors and especially our beloved boy."

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"We checked the records for Lamby," Robert Vazquez, a spokesperson for the BARC shelter told Yahoo Celebrity. "He was 'owner surrendered, not enough time,' so we do not know where she got 'multiple owners that abused the dog.'"

A source close to Dunham said, "Lena had Lamby checked out by at least six veterinarians who deemed he had brain damage."

The star herself had been open in the past about Lamby's misbehavior and aggression, tweeting in 2014, "We have a special-need rescue dog who has bitten me twice, under specific circumstances, in our own home... He has an amazing trainer..."

"When she adopted the dog from us, it wasn't crazy," Vazquez said. "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," he said, referencing a recent article from the fashion magazine in which Dunham showed off her pet.

Vazquez claims he has "been in charge of the dogs" at BARC for more than a decade and that he was personally there the "four times Lena visited Lamby" prior to the dog's adoption. "If Lamby had a bad past or was abused, do you think BARC would have adopted him to Lena knowing she's a new star and put her — or the dog — in that situation? We would have told her if the dog had issues. We are a no-kill shelter. We don't lie about the dogs' histories because that gets them returned — and mentally it's not good for dogs," Vazquez said.

Dunham responded to Vazquez's comments on Instagram: "It's come to my attention that the staff at the shelter where I adopted Lamby have a very different account of his early life and behavioral issues than I do. While I'm sorry to have disappointed them, I can't apologize," the actress wrote. "Lamby was and is one of the great loves of my life. When I met him I knew we'd have an amazing journey. But his aggression - which was unpredictable- and his particular issues, which remain myriad, weren't manageable, at least not by me. I did what I thought the best mother would do, which was to give him a life that provided for his specific needs. He'd been with me for nearly four years and I was his mom- I was in the best position to discern what those needs were. After countless hours of training, endless financial support and a lot of tears he was given access to a better life. I still support him financially and I'll always be there for him in every way but he's notably happier in his new surroundings."

She continued: "Why should this story be subject to scrutiny and anger? It is willfully misunderstanding the truth. I hope those judging can imagine the incredible pain of letting go of your favorite creature on EARTH because you know you can't help them be healthy and happy. I would never say an unkind word about the staff of BARC, what they do is amazing and life saving for these animals- but we have different accounts of Lamby's behavior and they were not present in my home nor did they live with him for an extended period. They did not witness the consistent and responsible care I provided. I have weathered a lot of micro-scandals but this one hurts MOST, because of the vulnerability of letting people know Lamby and my story, and because I miss him so damn much.

Dunham's words captioned a photo of a painting of Lamby. "This is the painting that greets me every day when I walk into my home," she wrote. "This is the animal who taught me about loving and letting go. I know I'm a lot of fun to place your issues on, but I won't let anyone hang their hat on this peg. Not this time."