James Kennedy hasn’t spoken to Raquel Leviss after she adopted her dog

James Kennedy And Ally Lewber are having a blast as a family of five (including three fur babies).

During an exclusive interview with We weekly at BravoCon on Saturday, November 4, James, 31, and Ally, 27, discussed how dog Hippie has adjusted to life with them and their two cats.

“[He is] awesome. He’s amazing,” James said before Ally added, “He’s so amazing. I love him. He is so happy and we have a garden. He’s been a great kid.”

After adopting the dog earlier this summer, James confirmed this Us that he has had no contact with ex Raquel Levissthe previous owner of Hippie.

Vanderpump Rules viewers were introduced to Hippie when he was still called Graham Cracker. During James and Raquel’s relationship, the former beauty pageant queen, 29, received the pet as a gift from her parents. Raquel initially remained Graham’s primary guardian after ending her engagement to James in late 2021.

Earlier this year, Raquel made headlines for having an affair with Costar Tom Sandovalthus ending his nearly decade long romance with Ariana Madix. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Raquel was admitted to a mental health institution. While fans assumed Raquel’s dog was in her family’s possession during her 90-day stay, James later revealed that he was now taking care of Graham.

‘Look who’s gone back home, back into my life. I will take care of you forever, and I love you,” James captioned a July Instagram photo of him filming season 11 with his dog, who he later renamed Hippie.

Lisa Vanderpump claimed at the time that her Vanderpump Dogs Rescue organization received notice that the dog was in a shelter, which is how James was able to gain custody. However, Raquel’s mother, Laura, clarified that an incident led to the decision to surrender Graham to trainers at California Doodle Rescue. They later contacted Lisa, 63, without Laura’s knowledge or approval.

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A month later, Raquel told her side of the story about what led to Graham being rehomed.

“There’s a lot more to this story, but Graham, my god. He has a history of aggression and he bit me very hard. I was already considering getting a foster home when I went in [the mental health facility] the Meadows and try it out,” she further said Bethenny Frankel‘s iHeartRadio’s “ReWives” podcast in August.

Raquel claimed there was “a reason why” she didn’t want James to care for the dog, adding: “He has no dog experience and he’s part of the reason why Graham is a biter. James encouraged Graham to bite his hands hard, and he liked that feeling, so of course that trained Graham to be a biter.”

According to Raquel, the choice to find Graham a new home came after she exhausted other options.

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“My dog ​​Graham bit my mother’s hand 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 care for my dog, or try to rehome him and finish my treatment because I knew I had more to work on,” she continued . “So I chose myself and we researched a breed-specific dog rescue, and they took him in in addition to his biting behavior. In short, he could not be relocated.”

The former reality star, who has now announced her departure Vanderpump Ruleswas surprised to hear that Lisa became involved in Graham’s rehousing.

“It had to be confidential, anonymous [decision] because it’s no one else’s business,” she added at the time. “I thought it was a joke at first [when I saw Graham with James]. My heart dropped to my stomach. There was a picture of James walking with Graham, and I was like, ‘No.’ My mother immediately called the foster parent who worked with Graham, and she said, “Oh, it’s so beautiful. Lisa adopted him.” So the story now is: I dumped my dog ​​in a shelter and he was hours away from euthanasia, and that’s not true.

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Although Raquel has taken a step back from filming, James enjoyed being in the spotlight after filming season 11.

“The atmosphere was quite intense afterwards [our Vanderpump Rules panel]. I don’t think Sandoval had much fun up there. I had a great time,” James joked Us after joining his costars on stage at BravoCon on Friday, November 3. “But yes, it was an intense panel. … But we all got through it and I thought there were some funny parts in there.”

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi