Celebrity pets are often adorable, sometimes exotic, and sadly, sometimes grossly mistreated.
Cue Sarah Mclachlan, because these stars' behavior, will make you want to rescue their
poor pets from the trauma...then cry in a corner for a really long time, and maybe eat
all of the Häagen-Dazs.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber has a pretty poor track record with his pets.
His pet capuchin monkey, OG Mally, was confiscated in Germany when the singer was on tour in
March 2013.
Three years later, Bieber told GQ, "Honestly, everyone told me not to bring the monkey [on
tour]…I was like, 'It's gonna be fine, guys!'
It was the farthest thing from fine.
In Germany, that monkey's endangered or something…but I had the papers.”
The monkey now lives happily in a zoo.
Unfortunately, Mally wasn't the only critter Bieber ruined.
In December 2012, he gave a fan custody of his “tour pet” hamster, and the furball
died that March.
TMZ reports that the fan took good care of the hamster, but it got sick, and by the time
she took it to the vet, it was too late.
But perhaps most traumatic was Bieber's bulldog, Karma.
Bieber reportedly got Karma for his dad Jeremy, who then left her with a trainer and never
returned.
Per TMZ, the trainer accused Jeremy of throwing Karma out of a second-story window into a
snowbank, so perhaps it's for the best that the Biebers never came back for the pooch.
Pretty bad karma, Biebs.
Tyga
Considering Tyga is neither the most responsible, nor the most law-abiding guy around, it's
no surprise he isn't the greatest pet owner.
Tyga owned an actual tiger cub in early 2014.
By May of that year, California Wildlife officers confiscated the animal, which is illegal to
own in the state, and Tyga faced criminal charges, with a possible six-month jail sentence.
The tiger was placed in a private animal sanctuary, and a rep later told TMZ that Tyga never bothered
to check in on the cat — which they renamed Maverick — and that Tyga hasn't donated
a dime to the non-profit sanctuary, even though Maverick costs them $10,000 a year just for
food alone.
Too bad he doesn’t have that kind of money.
Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton is a prolific pet owner, but she may not be a good one.
She once boasted 35 pets, which she loved showing off, but not all of them met happy
endings.
Gawker reported that she failed to get her kitten, Prada, neutered, and when she did
take him to the vet, she abandoned him there.
At one point, she had all of her pets living in her home with no one there to care for
them, except for a housekeeper.
Animal rescuer Kris Kelly told Gawker, "We gave Ms. Hilton every opportunity to do the
right thing for Prada but she failed to comply and then abandoned him...We now have Prada
in a foster home…She has proved to be a negligent pet owner."
But it doesn't end there.
According to Gawker, when Hilton gets a new pet that she doesn't feel like training, she
leaves it in a closet, often to die of neglect.
And that teacup-dog-in-designer-bag trend that she started?
It resulted in a whole lot of chihuahua abandonment in shelters.
And speaking of those tiny pets, canine researcher Mia Cobb told The Dodo, "[Those dogs] are
bred to meet a fashion ideal purely based on looks, often exaggerating their puppy features,
rather than for sound health, good behavior and longevity.
Many of these issues...develop or deteriorate over the first year of life."
So what’s Paris saying about it?
“Whatever.
I forgive you.”
Kim Kardashian
Kanye West got Kim Kardashian a teacup Persian kitten named Mercy, named after a song he'd
written about her.
Sweet, right?
Except Kardashian is allergic to cats.
E! Online reported that Kardashian then gave Mercy to sister Khloe’s assistant.
Mercy subsequently died of a breeding-related fatal virus at just four months old.
While not exactly West or Kardashian's fault, it does say that the couple didn't bother
doing their research and likely would have been better off without a kitten at all…or
with one they adopted from a shelter, instead of purchasing from a mill.
But they were just keeping the family tradition of bad pet ideas alive:
“Is that a little pig?”
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres adopted her dog Iggy from Mutts & Moms, and apparently failed to read
the fine print on her adoption agreement.
When Iggy didn't get along with the cats she and wife Portia already owned, she gave him
to her hairdresser, which was a big no-no for the agency.
People reported that Mutts & Moms swooped in and confiscated Iggy from the hairdresser’s
family, including her two young daughters, leading DeGeneres into a slew of tearful TV
appearances over the incident.
She said:
"I guess I signed a piece of paper that says if I can't keep Iggy, it goes back to the
rescue organization, which is not someone's home, which is not a family."
She owned up to her part in the fiasco, pleading with the agency:
"I'm so sorry.
I'm begging them to give that dog back to that family.
Just please give the dog back to those little girls."
Ultimately, Iggy went back to the agency was placed with a different family, which was
enough to make anyone grumpy.
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