‘Vanderpump Rules’ Season 11 Could Be ‘RHOBH’ Puppygate 2.0?

Did Scandoval just turn into “puppygate” on Vanderpump Rules? James Kennedy shared on Instagram that he’s now caring for Graham, the Goldendoodle puppy Raquel Leviss adopted when she was living with Kennedy.

Leviss kept Graham after her split from Kennedy but he recently shared that he now has full custody of the dog. This initial news was surprising after Leviss kept Graham away from Kennedy after their split.

But now complicating the matter, unnamed sources report that Leviss didn’t simply turn the dog over to Kennedy. But rather she dropped him off at an animal shelter because he was having behavioral issues. The Vanderpump Dog Foundation was made aware of Graham’s situation and intervened.

Update to ‘Vanderpump Rules’ puppygate

Update: Leviss’s mother Laura told ET that the dog was not “dumped” in a shelter. Leviss’s parents cared for Graham while Leviss received treatment in a mental health facility. While in their care the dog bit Leviss’s mother, causing serious damage. After trying several routes to train Graham, the family ultimately gave the dog to their trainer.

“While with the trainer, Graham bit both her and her husband,” Leviss’s mother said. “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. My daughter nor I ever dumped Graham and want nothing but the best for him.”

Is ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Season 11 going to end up like puppygate?

Kennedy proudly posted about gaining custody of Graham. “Look who made his way back home, back into my life, I’ll take care of you forever and I love you,” he captioned a few photos on Instagram. Fans seemed surprised that Kennedy and his new girlfriend Ally Lewber now had the dog.

But one fan revealed that Graham was with Lisa Vanderpump and her husband Ken Todd but they denied it. “So confused! I met Lisa and Ken last night with this precious pup and I literally said ‘he looks like Graham’ and she acted as tho it wasn’t him! I am shook! And so happy for you!” the fan wrote on Kennedy’s post.  

Thus far no one from the Vanderpump Rules cast is addressing the rumor that Graham was left at a shelter.

The Vanderpump Rules puppygate drama becomes a new layer to the pain and trauma Leviss’s affair with Tom Sandoval caused last season. Leviss ended up seeking treatment and is rumored to be returning to the show.

What was ‘RHOBH’ puppygate?

If the story is true, it sounds very close to what happened on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 9, which was when Dorit Kemsley adopted a puppy from Vanderpump Dogs but ultimately gave the dog to a shelter when it nipped at her children.

The dog’s chip was tagged back to Vanderpump Dogs and Vanderpump was not thrilled. The entire debacle turned into a messy media issue when the cast accused Vanderpump of planting stories about the embarrassing gaffe.

Kemsley had a contract with Vanderpump Dogs that if the situation with the dog in question – named Lucy Lucy Apple Juice – didn’t work out, she would return it to the rescue.

RHOBH Season 9 ended up being dubbed “puppygate” because a decent chunk of the season was trying to decide if Vanderpump was lying after she insisted she did not plant any stories about Kemsley. The season was also Vanderpump’s final RHOBH season. She did not attend the reunion.

The “puppygate” incident ultimately destroyed Vanderpump’s close friendship with Kyle Richards, which prompted the now infamous line, “Goodbye Kyle,” which was delivered by Todd.