The drama over Raquel Leviss and James Kennedy’s puppy continues!
For those who haven’t been keeping up, the former couple got Graham in 2018 while they were dating. When they ended their engagement three years later, the 28-year-old ended up keeping the dog. But flash forward to this week, James surprised fans by announcing Graham was back in his home – forever this time! Ch-ch-check it out (below):
Now, a lot of people were confused and stunned by the sudden change in ownership. No one would have thought that Raquel, who threw Graham his own puppy party, would ever give him up. But apparently, there was some behind-the-scenes drama in the whole situation! According to TMZ on Thursday, the pooch was dropped off at a shelter because of behavioral issues, specifically biting. And no one seemingly told James about what was happening with Graham! So when Lisa Vanderpump’s Vanderpump Dog Foundation found out about the situation, they helped reunite James with the pup again.
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Once fans heard about this, well, they were not too happy with Raquel! Many were PISSED on social media that the former pageant queen dumped her dog at a shelter instead of seemingly getting him training or offering him to James first. (FYI, insiders for TMZ said the DJ has taken him to training classes, which were successful in addressing the behavior issues.)
This has pretty much become a Puppygate part two in the Bravo universe! So what does Raquel have to say for herself? Well, not much! Instead, her mom seems to be taking the reins with this scandal and setting the record straight about what really happened. Laura Leviss claimed to Entertainment Tonight on Friday that Graham bit her finger while she was watching him for Raquel during her stay at a mental health facility. You can see the image of the injury HERE. In fact, the bite was so bad that she suffered from nerve damage:
“Rachel put Graham into behavior classes after breaking up with James because he had bitten several people. When Rachel went into the mental health facility, she asked us to care for Graham as we have many times before. While caring for him he bit me to the bone, causing severe damage.”
OUCH!!
According to Laura, doctors suggested Graham be euthanized – but their family turned it down. Instead, she says she did everything in her power to get Graham the help he needed before eventually deciding to keep him at California Doodle Rescue with a trainer:
“I saw two doctors for the wound that suggested he be euthanized, which we absolutely declined, and sought out the best rehabilitation center, California Doodle Rescue, that gave him a trainer with over 40 years of experience. After discussing with Rachel, we made the tough decision to drive Graham on May 20 to California Doodle Rescue so that he wasn’t alone and delivered him directly to the trainer’s home with a tearful goodbye.”
Laura said Graham was eventually adopted by a new owner. However, the person returned him to California Doodle Rescue days later due to his biting problem. As for how Vanderpump Dogs fits into this story? She claimed the rescue contacted LVP for help, and she offered to take Graham to either be rehabilitated before going to another owner or stay at her home forever:
“While with the trainer, Graham bit both her and her husband. They still worked with him more to get him to a place where he could be adopted. He was placed with a new owner and was returned within three days after also biting her. The rescue then reached out to Lisa Vanderpump for financial assistance to hire a different trainer. Lisa offered to adopt Graham and he was picked up by Vanderpump Dogs Rescue on July 13. California Doodle Rescue was told that Vanderpump Dogs would either rehabilitate him and place him in a good home or he could live on her property until his dying day.”
From there, James took in Graham again. Lauren insisted to the outlet that neither “my daughter nor I ever dumped Graham” and they just “want nothing but the best for him” at the end of the day. We’re glad to hear they didn’t just give away Graham at the first sign of trouble. But we still cannot believe they didn’t think to reach out to James, considering Raquel adopted the pup with him! And Vanderpump Rules fans know how heartbroken the 31-year-old was when he no longer had Graham in his life!
But what do you think about the debacle, Perezcious readers? Do you still think Raquel should have contacted James first before placing Graham in a rescue? Let us know in the comments below!
[Image via Raquel Leviss/Instagram, James Kennedy/Instagram, Vanderpump/Peacock]
