9 Stars Who Admit They Had To Rehome Their Dogs

Even though it can be a controversial choice, a few celebrities have opened up about rehoming their pets and shared why it was the best course of action for everyone involved. While they faced some backlash, these stars feel that they made the right decision.

Find out why these celebrities rehomed their pets…

Kaley Cuoco adopted her beloved dog Shirley when she was just six-weeks-old but after years together, fans noticed that the actress had stopped posting about the pup. In late 2024, she finally shared that she had made the “very, very difficult decision” to rehome Shirley with a close friend after she began getting in fights with a dog belonging to Kaley’s fiancé Tom Pelphrey. She explained that she did so for Shirley’s own safety as well as the other dogs that live with her.

“When the love of my life came into my life, Tom, who is also a mega dog lover, moved across the country with his beautiful German Shepherd, Blue, a couple years ago -- unfortunately, Blue and Shirley started getting into some mega fights. Shirley was determined to kill him. It was very scary,” Kaley shared in an Instagram video.

She continued, “She could not live with us with the way she was behaving. I loved her so much, but I was really scared. I didn’t want something really bad to happen or possibly a person accidentally be there and get hurt…[My pet handler and his wife] have loved her so, so much, and it was an excruciating decision for me.”

Shirley lived with the pet handler on a “beautiful farm” until the end of her life, when she passed away at age 14 due to “a very aggressive bone cancer.”

Olivia Wilde adopted her dog Gordy at just two-months-old and took care of him for years. But after her split with Jason Sudeikis in 2020, Olivia’s former nanny accused her of giving the dog away to date Harry Styles. While Olivia never confirmed that she had rehomed Gordy, the animal rescue from which Olivia adopted Gordy explained the situation.

“Gordy was adopted to @oliviawilde at 2 months old and after giving him much love and training and travel adventures, she realized that Gordy didn’t love the travel life and wasn’t happy around toddlers. Gordy had formed a very strong bond with his dog walker and in Gordy’s best interest and after much thought and consideration, he was rehomed to his Brooklyn dog walker,” Maeday Rescue shared on Instagram in 2022.

They continued, “We pride ourselves on finding that perfect forever home for our Maeday animals and every once in a while the animal is just happier in a different environment and that’s OK. Olivia is a huge animal rescue advocate and rehomed Gordy out of compassion and love for him.”

Following Raquel Leviss and James Kennedy’s split, their dog Graham Cracker had to be rehomed. While Raquel says it’s a complicated story, she explained that she took custody of the pup after the breakup because she didn’t feel that James had enough “dog experience.” She added that she felt that James had encouraged the dog’s severe biting tendencies and was part of the reason Graham had a “history of aggression.”

When Raquel later checked into a mental health facility, her parents temporarily took in the dog -- but while she was away, Graham injured Raquel’s mom. Raquel decided it would be best to bring the pup to the California Doodle Rescue.

“My dog Graham bit my mom’s hand down to the bone, and it was so bad she couldn’t even get stitches. I had the decision to either leave the Meadows and go back and take care of my dog, or try to get him rehomed and finish out my treatment, because I knew I had more to work on,” she said on iHeartRadio’s ReWives podcast. “So I chose myself and we researched a breed-specific dog rescue, and they took him in besides his biting behavior. Bottom line, he couldn’t get rehomed.”

The animal rescue facility ended up contacting Lisa Vanderpump about the situation, which Raquel says was supposed to be “confidential.” Lisa ended up adopting the dog, which she then gave back to James. Raquel says she believes it was all a ploy to get her to return to Vanderpump Rules.

In 2013, Andy Cohen rescued his dog Wacha from a kill shelter in West Virginia but after welcoming his son, Andy realized it was not the best situation for his pup. He explained that Wacha had expressed “occasional random signs of aggression” through the years, which had been addressed by trainers. But when Andy’s son was born, it became a dangerous situation for everyone. While “no effort was spared” to try to remedy the issues, it became clear that Wacha would be happier elsewhere.

"When he came into my life, my world changed,” Andy wrote on Instagram. “After an incident a few months ago, numerous professionals led me to the conclusion that my home is simply not a good place for him. Keeping him here could be catastrophic for Ben and worse for Wacha…When I think of him — let’s be honest, when don’t I think of him — it’s with the clarity that we were meant to come into each other’s lives exactly when we did, and that he’s happy, which gives me peace of mind. We did rescue each other.”

Wacha now permanently lives with the family he often stayed with when Andy was out of town and Andy gets to see the pup whenever he can.

Lily Allen admits that she once rehomed an adopted dog after it exhibited behavioral issues. She explained that while she “really tried very hard” to help the dog fit in with the family, there was an incident that “broke the camel’s back.” Lily says the pup ate three of her family’s passports, which included their visas. It ended up costing tons of money and months of her time to get everything replaced -- and prevented her children from visiting their father in England for an extended period.

“We actually did adopt a dog already, but then it ate my passport and so I took her back to the home,” she said on her Miss Me? podcast. “She ate all three of our passports and they had our visas in. 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.”

She added, “Because the father of my children lives in England, I couldn’t take them back to see their dad for like four months, five months, because this f–king dog had eaten the passports. I just couldn’t look at [the dog anymore]. I was like, ‘You’ve ruined my life.’”

After facing much backlash and even death threats over the situation, Lily clarified that there was much more to the story. She shared that the dog had extreme separation anxiety that caused her to act out if she was left alone for more than 10 minutes. The family worked with the shelter she was adopted from and were referred to a behavioral specialist and a professional trainer. After many months, it was mutually decided that her home wasn't the best fit for the dog.

Bachelor couple Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici were forced to rehome their dog in 2023 when they felt it was not a safe situation for their family. Although he was trained, Sean says he sometimes still exhibited aggression. While they tried to fix the situation, things came to a head when the dog bit their son Samuel on the head.

“Y’all know how much I loved that dog and he was such a great dog. Great with the kids, well-trained and he was so full of love. However, he showed a couple instances of resource guarding in the past when he snapped at/bit Mia,” Sean shared on an Instagram story. “We did everything in our power to keep it from happening again but one night several weeks ago, Samuel bent down to pet Gus, and Gus bit him on the side of the head.”

He continued, “The result was a trip to the E.R. and a staple in the head. So, as much as I love that dog, I have to put my kids first. But [Gus is] in a great home and we’ll get to still see him occasionally. [By the way], I died a little on the inside.”

Sean added that the pup now lives with his dog trainer where he is very happy.

In 2021, fans began noticing that Christina Haack no longer featured her dog Biggie on social media. When she finally addressed the comment, she explained that the pup had to be rehomed because of behavioral issues

"Due to behavioral issues, I made the hard decision to have Biggie re-homed in the best interest of my children," she shared in a now-deleted Instagram post.

When former president Joe Biden moved into the White House, his dog Major began exhibiting behavioral issues, including biting a Secret Service agent. Eventually, it was decided that Major would move to the president’s family home in Delaware, where he received more training. Instead of later returning to the White House, Major ended up being rehomed to live with family friends.

“After consulting with dog trainers, animal behaviorists and veterinarians, the first family has decided to follow the experts’ collective recommendation that it would be safest for Major to live in a quieter environment with family friends,” Michael LaRosa, the first lady's spokesperson, said in a statement. “This is not in reaction to any new or specific incident, but rather a decision reached after several months of deliberation as a family and discussions with experts."