Ellen Degeneres & Pet Adoption*Update post #16*

[critter crazy]

Beth Harris
Associated Press Writer
Oct. 16, 2007 12:00 AM
LOS ANGELES - Ellen DeGeneres is in the doghouse with a pet rescue agency after giving a pooch away to her hairdresser because it didn't get along with her cats.
The talk show hostess and her partner Portia de Rossi adopted Iggy, a Brussels Griffon mix, on Sept. 20. But when things didn't work out, DeGeneres gave the dog to her hairdresser.
In doing so, DeGeneres violated an agreement with the Mutts and Moms dog rescue agency by not informing them of the handoff.
When the agency called DeGeneres to ask about Iggy, she said she found another home for the dog. The agency sent a representative to the hairdresser's home Sunday and took the dog away.
DeGeneres went public about the situation Monday while taping an episode of her show to air Tuesday. She admitted she didn't read all the paperwork involving the adoption.
DeGeneres said she spent $3,000 having the dog neutered and trained to be with her cats. But the dog had too much energy and was too rambunctious, she told her television audience.
"I guess I signed a piece of paper that says if I can't keep Iggy, it goes back to the rescue organization, which is not someone's home, which is not a family," she said in a show transcript provided to The Associated Press.
"I thought I did a good thing. I tried to find a loving home for the dog because I couldn't keep it."
DeGeneres said her hairdresser's daughters, ages 11 and 12, had bonded with Iggy and were heartbroken when the dog was taken away.
"Because I did it wrong, those people went and took that dog out of their home, and took it away from those kids," a sobbing DeGeneres said on her show.
I feel totally responsible for it and I'm so sorry. I'm begging them to give that dog back to that family," she said. "It's not their fault. It's my fault. I shouldn't have given the dog away. Just please give the dog back to those little girls."
Mutts and Moms, a volunteer nonprofit organization in Pasadena, does not have a listed phone number and didn't immediately respond to an e-mail request for comment.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/a...neres1016.html

[lvpets2002]

Yes this is so so Sad.. I Posted a Thread in Dog General of this story.. Yes give the puppy back.. Yes I know you sign the contract.. But if you tell the truth they always waive the contract.. I am sure there is more to the story.. I still cryed with her & for the poor wittle puppy..

[lady_zana]

I understand the reason the rule....they want to be sure it's in a good home...who knows who someone might give it to? But if they've checked out this new place, Ellen's friend, and she's a responsible pet owner, why not let the dog live there? Ellen's right - the adoption agency isn't a home or a family.

(And I hope the $3,000 was mostly for the dog training....if she paid $3000 to get it neutred, she needs to look for a new vet! )

[Ginger's Mom]

Let me play devil's advocate for a moment.
Does anyone know if the adoption agency contacted the new "owners" and asked them to come in and fill out the proper paperwork? How did they know where the new owners lived, to go get the puppy? It it possible/probable, that there were attempts to get a home and background check that were ignored by the new "owners" until they learned how serious the adoption agency was when they showed up for the pup? Is it possible that they thought because they know Ellen Degeneres that they thought they didn't need to go through the same process other adopters need to go through? I don't know if that is the case or not. But it is possible that they are just as responsible for what happened as the adoption agency. They may have been able to avoid the whole "heartbroken" children fiasco by doing what needed to be done to keep the puppy.

Again, I don't know if any of that happened. I am just suggesting that there may be two sides to the story, and I seriously hope that this does not ruin the reputation of a rescue if it is truly doing good work for dogs.

[animal_rescue]

*sigh* This all makes me think of Charley. I don't know if you guys remember this but he was my neighbor's Collie mix that I loved like my own. He died because of stupid owners! If his first owner's would have just given him back to the HS then he wouldn't have died like he did.

Anyways why can't they just fill out the paperwork themselves and adopt him out as their own? What is so wrong with that?!

[KittyGurl]

This is so sad. They shouldn't of taken the dog back. The puppy would be so much happier in a home than in a shelter. Poor dog...

[critter crazy]

I can definitely see both sides of the story, but Like so many others have said, that poor dog dosent deserve to be in a shelter, he should be in a home.

[moosmom]

I just watched the video of Ellen's show where she was explaining the situation. It broke my heart. I commend her for being honest with the rescue organization. And I think instead of taking the dog back, they should've just asked the couple with the children to fill out a new adoption form. To physically remove the dog from a loving home simply because Ellen made a mistake was wrong. If the home were abusive, that is one thing. But this was a loving furrrrever home. I hope they change their minds.

[Ginger's Mom]

Donna, I did not see Ellen. Are you saying they never asked the family to fill out the proper paperwork? How did they find out where the family lived?

[Logan]

You guys are as fair as I have seen all day today. Thank you for that! On one of my other groups, everyone is crying foul, saying the rescue did the wrong thing. How do they know?

Those of us involved in rescue know that there is a reason that they do vet reference checks, home visits, etc. And for the rescue to decide to waive those rules just because it is Ellen who is turning over the dog to a new owner, just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm living proof of how the system works. I fostered Ben (Golden Retriever) last year for a week. An approved family ended up adopting him. No one else in our rescue group ever saw him. He was turned in as a stray at our rescue's vet office and I picked him up after he had all of his shots and had been temperment tested. The family ended up with a change of life situation and couldn't keep him. They called me. I knew I wanted him, but I did go through proper channels to have them release him back to rescue and then I formally adopted him. It was the right thing to do, although those folks would have turned him over to me, no questions asked. They didn't remember that they needed to contact the rescue. They just knew I loved him and since we had kept in touch, they told me, first. Boy am I glad they did!!!

I feel horrible for the situation Ellen found herself in and I feel really badly for that family, too, and the dog. Hopefully all parties involved will use this opportunity to educate people about why rescue does what it does to find proper homes for the dogs they take in. And if the family that she gave the dog to will go through the proper adoption procedures, pass the home check and vet reference check, he can be right back with them. Something tells me that the rescue would not want all of this negative publicity and hopefully they are working in the best interest of the dog. I'm cautiously optimistic!

Logan

[lizbud]

I just posted in Dog General about this & to repeat, it's,

I try to watch her show everyday & I did see today's show where she
talked about it. I do hope the group reconsiders & finds this new family
to be responsible people who love the dog. Anyone who knows Ellen, knows
what a animal lover she is. I would think Ellen has enough smarts to know
a responsible pet lover when she sees one. Give the dog back, I say.

Only thing I would add is ,Ellen made the point that she did the wrong thing.
She was upset that the dog had to suffer for her mistake in not following
the adoption policy. She was doing the right thing in finding a good home
for the pup, but overlooked the policy papers. I hope something can be
worked out for all concerned.The family & their little girls did bond with the pup.

[Argranade]

I hope that family with those 2 girls get's the dog back!

How rude is that.

[CathyBogart]

I have to side with the rescue, though I think they should give the family the option of going through the rescue to get the dog back, IF they pass the rescues screening process.

[Ginger's Mom]

Hopefully all parties involved will use this opportunity to educate people about why rescue does what it does to find proper homes for the dogs they take in. And if the family that she gave the dog to will go through the proper adoption procedures, pass the home check and vet reference check, he can be right back with them. Something tells me that the rescue would not want all of this negative publicity and hopefully they are working in the best interest of the dog.

What a good thought! I hope you are right.

I hear everyone saying that the dog went to a shelter. The name Mutts and Moms doesn't sound like a shelter to me. I would have thought that it is a rescue agency, and they usually rely on foster homes for their dogs, not shelters.

I still have no idea what really happened, but the other thing that surprises me is that someone in Ellen Degeneres position would sign a legal agreement without being aware of what it said. I would just think you would be extra careful when you have so much you could lose. I got Ginger from a rescue group located about 4 hours from where I live. Their paperwork said that if I ever needed to rehome my dog that I was to place the dog back with them. I questioned the lady about that before I signed the paperwork. I asked her if that meant that if I found that I was unable to care for my dog but I had a relative or close friend that Ginger had bonded with, I would not be able to place my dog with that person? She said if I contacted them and informed them of the rehome and who she was going with they would probably approve the rehome fairly quickly. So I added that to the "other" section of the adoption agreement.

[jennielynn1970]

Has there been any word about the dog or the family it was taken away from?

It's unfortunate that it happened the way it did. These type of things really have negative effects on animals, but I'm sure the rescue was doing what it felt was best at the time. I hope so anyway.