An Australian influencer and mother of three has come under fire from fans after deciding to rehome her family dog, Socks.
Kyree Harvey and her husband Ben, from Perth, brought the Aussie pup home in August last year.
Her three children quickly became obsessed with the adorable brown pup who appeared in several videos on Kyree’s Instagram page and appeared in brand deals.
While everything seemed perfect from the outside, the couple was fighting behind the scenes and a few weeks ago Socks’ posts disappeared from Kyree’s social media, leaving fans wondering why.
The 35-year-old mother issued a lengthy statement explaining the difficult decision to rehome Socks.
Kyree Harvey and her husband Ben, from Perth, brought home the Aussie Doodle puppy in August last year and named him Socks (pictured).
But three weeks ago, Kyree shared a lengthy post on Instagram explaining why Socks was rehomed.
In an honest Instagram Story, Kyree felt she owed her 235,000 followers an explanation and said she felt “extremely anxious, uncomfortable and scared” about revealing the news.
In an honest Instagram Story, Kyree felt she owed her 235,000 followers an explanation and said she felt “extremely anxious, uncomfortable and scared” about revealing the news.
The main reason Socks was rehomed was because of his size.
‘Even after all the endless research, we thought we were very prepared; However, we still make mistakes. “We never anticipated or understood how big it would become,” the statement read.
‘He was 35kg and had super long standard poodle legs and was growing. Even with private training in our home, her size became unmanageable for me when she also had three children.’
Kyree explained that he couldn’t take the kids and Socks out at the same time, and that there were safety concerns since he would jump over the fence onto the road.
“We have ensured that Socks lives a full and extremely loving life with his brother and new mother,” the statement said.
‘I couldn’t provide him with the active life I thought he could while Ben was away. “There were many reasons for our decision, and it was a very depressing and heartbreaking decision,” the statement continued.
‘After long conversations with Socks’ original breeder, she was very understanding and helped us find the most loving new home for him.
“We have ensured that Socks lives a full and extremely loving life with his brother and new mother.”
Kyree added that she keeps in touch with Socks’ new owner and that he is now “living a tremendously wonderful life.”
But he made it clear that this is not the outcome he planned.
‘I understand that there will be many of you who do not agree, do not understand and will be disappointed. We have a dog as a lifelong commitment. “We never intended for this to be the decision we would make,” the statement read.
‘My parents’ dog is still 16 and I figured that’s what we’d have too. We plan to adopt a much smaller breed that will fit our family’s lifestyle.
“I hope they respect that as a family we did what was right for us and also made sure Socks was safe and loved too.”
A heated debate broke out online and Kyree issued a second statement.
Overall, while the end result wasn’t ideal, most felt that finding Socks a loving new home was a “good result.”
Although many others in the comments section of Outspoken Podcast did not hesitate to criticize her.
‘Why would you buy a big dog and then give it away because it’s too big?’ Do your research before getting a dog, poor thing,” one wrote.
“I have no idea who Kyree is but you can’t buy a working dog breed and expect it to easily adapt to your lifestyle, you choose a breed that actually already fits or actually trains the dog,” said another.
“It’s a shame he got rid of Socks like he was an old couch,” added a third.
‘You bought a puppy without worrying about what it would look like as an adult dog and then didn’t train it properly. The reasons she moved are entirely her fault and make her an irresponsible pet owner.”
Others sided with the couple and agreed that sometimes pet owners make mistakes.
“People make mistakes, dammit,” said one.
‘I hope none of you commenting EVER make mistakes. The dog is rehomed in a positive environment. “I don’t know who this woman is, but people judge every learning experience we have in life,” added another.
Someone else wrote: “A good outcome in terms of the dog’s well-being in the scenario he was placed in.”
The divisive comments prompted Kyree to issue a second statement.
‘Every one of you who still wants to gossip about the situation online really needs to find a new hobby. “What our family decided to do and what we decide to do in the future has absolutely nothing to do with any of you,” she said.
‘We make decisions for us and only us. We make decisions for our family and I’m pretty sure you’re not sitting at our dining room table with us making those decisions. Your opinion does not enter into our considerations.
‘Do we really still argue and gossip about other women online? Are you proud to do that? I really hope my daughter and sons grow up knowing that we don’t gossip about another human being online. Those (sic) words do have an impact on another person’s mental health.’