Justin Bieber has a new puppy named “Esther,” and the superstar seems to be absolutely smitten.
The breed of the dog isn’t definitive from the shot the 21-year-old posted to his Instagram on Sunday, but it’s likely the cutie is a Maltipoo or Yorkshire Terrier.
“Say hello to the newest member of the bieber family ‘Esther,’” Justin wrote alongside a photo of the brown and black puppy, which he cradled with his left arm.
Justin reportedly fell for “Esther’s” charms at a pet store inside the Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, California, on Saturday.
Fans spotted the singer at the store and took to Twitter to share their encounter.
WE SAW JUSTIN BIEBER AT THE MALL OMG OMG OMG OMG AT THE PUPPY STORE pic.twitter.com/MX0XGqcNGM
— KATniss ? (@daKATsmeowww) March 22, 2015
Justin later replied to @kATniss, tweeting , “love the pups.”
Longtime model pal Hailey Baldwin joined in the online fun and left a message at Justin’s photo of his new pet, which indicates he has been wanting a new puppy for some time. It negates Richard Lawson’s view at Vanity Fair , suggesting the singer got the puppy to take “photos of her to gain sympathy on social media.” Ah, cynics.
Hailey wrote,
TMZ reports, Justin went to dinner at Mastro’s Steakhouse in Beverly Hills on Sunday with Esther in tow.
Over recent years, concerns over dogs being bred in puppy mills prompted Los Angeles city officials to pass a trial law in 2013 prohibiting the sale of commercially bred dogs, cats and rabbits in stores. The law is active for three years and requires pet stores to sell only rescued animals.
It’s no secret that the Biebs has had a patchy history with pets , although in some instances the blame was misplaced .
In December 2013, Justin and his dad Jeremy , bought an American Bulldog puppy bred from a breeder at a pet store in Stratford, Ontario. Jeremy later asked his elder son’s fans on Twitter to send name options to find the best one for the pet pooch, settling on “Karma.”
At the time, a source connected to Bieber’s camp told the Inquisitr that Jeremy took full-time responsibility of caring for “Karma,” adding that it had never been intended for the pup to live with Justin.
Fast forward to last December, Canadian dog trainer Trevor Dvernichuk alleged to the tabloid The Sun newspaper that Jeremy brought the pup to him in February to get her ready for life with the singer in America, but never returned to pick her up.
However, a later TMZ report claimed “Karma” was taken to Dvernichuk to be socialized after the puppy allegedly bit Justin’s younger brother, Jaxon. The trainer alleged Jeremy hurled the puppy off a second-story balcony into a snow bank after the alleged biting.
For his part, Jeremy took to Twitter seemingly slamming the “abandonment” and “hurling” claims.
“It’s so absurd that the media can print stories that are ridiculously untrue. #mediafiction,” he wrote last December. In addition, based on Dvernichuk’s, at times, seemingly unhinged Facebook posts, his version of events is probably unreliable.
Back to Esther.
The “Where Are You Now” crooner’s decision to get a new puppy comes amid months of seemingly earnest, public apologies for past bad behavior, and after a reportedly scathing “Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber” which airs March 30.
Most recently, during an appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show , the Biebs explained his apology at the end of his roast.
“I was just talking about it being a new chapter for me and saying that I’m sorry for the stuff that I’ve done,” he told DeGeneres.
He went on to say that he found fame difficult to “handle” at a young age and that he “had to let people pull me down to see the truth and to see how much of a jerk I was being.”
At the roast itself, Justin told the audience, “I’m looking forward to being someone who you guys can all look at and be proud of.”
It seems like Justin is growing up and holding himself accountable for his actions. Perhaps taking on a new pet is partly motivated by his efforts to be more responsible? If so, Esther may avoid the fate of some of the singer’s other pets and won’t be passed on to others.
Esther’s newly opened Twitter fan account is optimistic. Fittingly, on National Puppy Day.
I feel safe in your arms @justinbieber pic.twitter.com/BS6ZaGsGnm
— Esther Bieber (@EstherThePuppy) March 23, 2015
(“Today is randomly national puppy day,” Justin wrote by a pic posted to his Instagram on Monday.)
[Images via Splash News Online/Instagram]