An Influencer Denies That She Wrongfully Took A Homeless Man’s Dog
Brittany Gatica Littleton is a vegan influencer with over 30,000 followers. She also co-owns Sugar Taco, a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles, and owns Little Love Rescue, an animal rehab. Brittany is pissing people off, as influencers do, and not because she faked a dramatic accident to shill water or threatened the Hamptons with coronavirus. Brittany has been accused of refusing to return a homeless man’s dog because of the pooch’s health problems. But Brittany claims that she didn’t “steal” the dog and is just trying to help out a down-and-out pooch in need.
Jezebel says that the man, Elliot Haas, is suing Brittany for keeping his dog. According to him, last January, a couple came up to his tent in Glendale, CA, where he lives, and offered him a table. He accepted the offer, but then the couple grabbed his dog Luna and began to put her in their car. When Elliot asked them why they were taking her away, they said that the dog looked sick and they were driving her to the vet. Elliot hasn’t seen her since. Elliot suffers from hearing loss and severe depression and says that Luna has been his emotional support dog since 2013.
Elliot filed a police report and later learned that the alleged dog thieves are friends with Brittany Littleton and that Luna was in her care. He called Brittany at Little Love Rescue and claimed she refused to return Luna and told him she spent $6,000 on vet bills. According to Elliot’s accusation, Brittany only agreed to return Luna if Elliot paid her back. If true, that makes sense since a homeless person has access to thousands of dollars.
But it turns out that the money that Brittnay spent on the dog’s vet bills probably didn’t come from her. She started a GoFundMe which raised over $7,000. A rep for Brittany and her rescue told NBC Los Angeles:
“We were not previously made aware of a lawsuit, but this information is inaccurate. The poor dog was surrendered to us in life-threatening conditions and we helped her.”
HeartLA, a housing equality advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against Brittany on behalf of Elliot. In a press release from HeartLA, they said that on June 26, they appeared with Elliot in front of a judge in Los Angeles via video call. Brittany didn’t show up “or oppose the writ of possession.” So the judge granted Elliot’s writ (which is a legal command) and ordered for Brittany and Little Love Rescue to return Luna to him or face being held in contempt of court.
Brittany may not have Zoomed into that hearing, but she posted her side of the story where it matters: Instagram. She claimed Luna was in horrible condition and paralyzed when she got to the dog. Brittany added that she has statements from vets about the “obvious neglect and evident abuse” of Luna. And that she’s “being threatened even though my only intentions were to rescue and care for a dog in need.” And Brittany needs money for legal fees to defend herself:
HeartLA claimed that when Luna became paralyzed in 2019, Elliot bought her a wheelchair.
Brittany also posted this video of Luna:
And today, Brittany posted two Instagram Stories where she claimed that Elliot’s side is lying and that she does not believe all nonhoused-people are neglectful dog owners and would never push that narrative. She also got a lawyer:
This is a tough, sad, and messy situation. But at least Brittany didn’t post a tearful apology video titled: “Why I Rehomed A Homeless Man’s Dog–MY TRUTH!” Well, not yet anyway.
Pic: Instagram