Ellen Sobs For The Return Of Confiscated Pet

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres broke down while taping her show yesterday, in an episode that airs today, over a dog named Iggy that she rescued from a shelter in September. After she spent thousands to get Iggy neutered and to try and train him to get along with her cats, it wasn't working. Meanwhile, Ellen's hairdresser has two daughters and looking for a puppy. Ellen gave them Iggy, got daily reports of how the girls loved and had bonded to Iggy, and she thought she'd done a good thing by finding the dog a loving home.

But the rescue shelter claims Ellen violated a deal by giving the animal away, and they took Iggy from the kids. "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," Ellen told the audience.

When the shelter called Ellen to check on Iggy, she was honest and told them she'd found the dog a new home. The shelter took Iggy from the hairdresser's home.

Here is Ellen sobbing on her show for the shelter to return the dog to the kids:

From NBC 10/16

Comments

[rainey]

What the ____ is wrong with her? She doesn't have half a dozen assistants, one of whom could pick up a phone and negotiate something? The public airways are for her to conduct her personal business?

How much trouble has she inflicted on people in a volunteer organization trying to protect animals?

Be an adult, Ellen! Negotiate a solution like any adult who doesn't have a television show and a posse of asssitants.

[WigWamWag]

That crap is not news. Why waste time and focus on such garbage? My all Ellen's persuits be trival, but spare us the angst.

[PoHo]

Take a hike bozo

[fasty]

I just don't get why the shelter wouldn't want the dog to have a good home where obviously they loved it, or they wouldn't be upset. Strange. Good for Ellen for showing her human side unlike so many celebs who are so overly concerned about image.

[ownsthepodium]

The shelter are good libs all and gave an abject lesson, not that any hufftards are receptive, in how brainless feel good lib policies hurt people, animals, all living things. But it doesn't matter does it. It's for the puppy!
This is what happens when policy, like the shelter's, is all lib feel good group think, and no logic.

[BWonka]

Stupid drunk.

[N678]

Ownsthepodium, you really shouldn't post when you are drunk. You make even less sense than when you are sober.

[peacekitten]

GFY. really and truly.

[Meah]

Shut up LEONA! You will surely be leaving $12 million to your doggie and cut your grandchildren out.

[Meah]

Thanks. Peavey and I go way back. New people need to know who he is and that he creeps all over Huffpo, leaving a trail of slime behind him.

[Meah]

Reply in wrong place. This was in response to N678 regarding peaveydreamer. We are enjoying exposing peavey for the creep that he is. LEONA (ownsthepodium) is talking to his littlepeople again.

[Simone]

Have you ever volunteered at a shelter?? Shelters have these rules to protect the adopted animal and to impress upon people that they adopted the animal for Life, not for a whim. Shelters try to find good and loving home for their pets. If you adopt an animal and then pass it around from person to person you are not providing a forever home. It also protects the animal from being given away to someone (see those free pet ads) who uses them for dog fighting.

[Mattie]

I have volunteered in a shelter, and it was the most depressing thing I have ever done. The stupidity and unfeeling nature of the people who would give up their animals was amazing. They would bring their dog in because it got to big, the cat had to go because as one woman put it, it wouldn't use the litter box when it was DIRTY. I kid you not, that's what she said. That was one side of it, then you had people adopting who told you they didn't need brochures on taking care of their new kitten because they had owned dozens of them. I just wanted to scream at them, well where are they, and you can't have this one. I could go on and on, I love my animals, and respect people who take care of theirs.

[PoHo]

The people at this shelter clearly have their heads up their ass.

[Naithom]

Rules are fine but rules cannot take the place of common sense. Ellen made every attempt to give this dog a good home in her own home. Because the animals could not be trained to get along even after extensive training, she found the dog a home with someone she knew well and where she could keep up with goings on with the dog.

Had the organization had any sense it would have had the family fill out the needed forms, done their investigation and allowed the dog to stay in the home instead of causing all this drama.

[Galvestonians for Dr. Ron Paul]

These people ought to be ashamed of themselves­...

GIVE THE PUPPY BACK!

[starrianna]

oh, so you're in favor of Nazism, but you also love puppies???

WTF? Oh well, I guess Hitler had a dog too.

[Boadicea]

how can someone be a nazi and support ron paul? he's essentially libertarian.

[HamletsMill]

Starrianna,

Yes. Hitler had his dog Blondie. He took good care of it as lifetime incumbent Fuhrer of the Third Reich. Except at the end when he had it poisoned in the final hours in the bunker so it would not survive it's master. The lesson, of course, is not to give absolute power to madmen. In the end madmen always turn out not to be good pet owners. I feel GWB should not be allowed to have a pet. Not even a goldfish. And certainly not a frog based upon his behavior as an adolescent. Well, maybe an ant farm would be OK. On second thought. Naaaah.

[dsinla]

Mutts and Moms
523 S Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91105
626.394.09­46
Email: [e-mail]
www.muttsandmoms.org

Hours of Operation: Monday - Saturday: 9 - 6
Sunday: 11:00am – 5:00pm

[rainey]

I hope DeGeneris is going to come up with a HUGE donation for all the trouble she's caused these people who volunteer their time to try to make sure animals go to appropriate homes.

And everyone here who increases the sh*t they have to deal with should do the same. How much time do you think these people will have available to find homes for other animals while you fixate on *one* who could have avoided all this if DeGeneris had simply contacted them as she agreed to do?

[TexSkep]

Ok, before everyone flys off the handle (oh, too late ), look at this from the perspective of a rescue group. Their job (generally volunteer and unpaid) is NOT to sell the dog, but to find a forever home that will care for the dog. Many of these dogs have had a tough life and educating owners on how to live sucessfully with a dog is a major mission of the group. Believe it or not, many dogs are sent to shelters and put down, not because their owners were bad people, but because they just didn't understand how to deal with behavior problems.
Most rescue groups have a number of reasonable conditions that their adoptees agree to. Aside from returning the dog, if you are unable to care for it, there are often certain training methods that must be adhered to, for instance no choke collars or shock collars.
Also they generally insist that you take your dog to training, some time with a specific trainer that they trust.
That said, the only concern of the rescue groups I have seen is the welfare of all concerned. I am sure if the new family persuaded them that the dog was in a stable, loving home and that they understood and could adhere to the terms of the original adoption agreement, they would gladly leave her where she was. Like everyone else who posted, I have no first hand knowledge of the individuals involved, but there are reasons for rules and most rescue groups can be flexible when there is reason to do so.

[Simone]

Absolutely correct, TexSkep.

[peacekitten]

you are 100% correct, texstep.

as someone who has been on the rescue group's end of things, i.e. an adoptive home who did NOT honor their contract with me, only instead of finding a loving home, the lying adopter took the animal to the shelter instead, i can see both sides of this argument.

the rules are there for a reason. at the same time, if ellen, or in my case the liar who adopted the animal from me, had simply called to tell me that they could no longer keep the animal, but that they had found a loving, stable home for he or she to go to and let me know the particulars of where they were going, the best interests of the animal could have been well served, and some flexibility could have been found all around that would have been for the best for all concerned.

ellen's dog had far happier prospects than the animal that was adopted from me. and that happened AFTER i had checked all the references for this person, called their landlord, and interviewed them four different times.

i hope this will be resolved in the best interest of the dog concerned, as well as the other animals the organization works to find homes for. i can tell you from experience that their job is a constant battle, and they cannot afford to allow their rules to be broken, even in such an instance as this, or their fights for other animals will not end as happily.

i feel for ellen, and even though she tried to do a good thing, a simple phone call could have saved all this anguish.

[Boadicea]

TexSkep, you're waaaay too rational to be a HuffPo commenter.

[KindAndThoughtful]

Ellen is just as nice in person as she is on TV. She genuinely cares about people and animals. I admire her so much.

[LibsRway2funny]

She's a freak of nature and is in dire need of psychological help.

[Tiny Demon]

Conservatwits that post on liberal blogs shouldnt go around calling the kettle black.

[BWonka]

So you hate women. We get that. And because of that you also want to hurt the dog. Seek help, loser.

[Zentomato]

Why is it that a show of honest emotion or a smattering of compassion just drives the righties so freaking crazy?

[N678]

"a freak of nature and is in dire need of psychological help."

What a perfect description of yourself; change it to the past tense and it could even serve as your epitaph.

[PoHo]

You are an asshole with eyes, go to hell you sorry SOB.

[arjuna108]

Obviously, mutts & moms is down but I looked around at some other CA sites and at what looks like a pretty standard contract they all seem to have.
There is nothing in it that says that the shelter retains ownership. They all say that the "punishment" for violating the contract is having to pay $150 to the shelter.
So far I haven't been able to find any CA law that would give them the right to go to someone's house and confiscate a dog. If anyone knows of such a law can you point me to a reference?
I'm having a hard time believing that these shelters go through the time and expense of running background checks on potential adopters. Is there someone with experience in this area that can say just what they do to "check out" a potential adopter?

[ecotopian]

Funny things happen when you search the internet. First, moms and mutts website in now off line. Second, so is Paw Boutique's. Third, there is an online petition started to reunite these kids with their dog: http://www.petitiononline.com/FreeIggy/petition.html

At the Petsmart in town, they allow a shelter to come in on the weekends to adopt out their animals. I have never encountered more controlling people than these folks. I was in there with my dog, they had a puppy and I thought it would be nice for them to meet. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that the pup was being trained to be calm (imagine an eight month old puppy in the middle of a store full of people being calm). I shrugged and waited. My dog sat down and looked at the pup and waited too. At no time was my dog even remotely acting in an excited state. Were we allowed to say hi at last? No, we never were. The handler was making sure she was in complete control. She never even asked if I was interested in the pup. To her, it was all about control and how she could wield that control over others, regardless of how it might affect the chances of that dog getting a good home.

[ecotopian]

Not eight month old, should read eight WEEK old.

[Simone]

How the hell do you know "To her, it was all about control". As a shelter volunteer she was there to promote animal adoption and keep that puppy safe, not to entertain your dog. Sounds like you're the one who wants to be in control.

[PoHo]

They should get offline, clearly they are not smart and have zero compassion. Anyone with half sense would realize Ellen would not give the dog to an undeserving person.

[kellygrrrl]

don't f^@k with the Puppy Police, ya'll

[bayouwaterdog]

Why should a celebrity be exempt from the agreement she signed to return the dog to the shelter should she not be able to keep it? It's called a CONTRACT, Ellen. Remember those? the things that you require everyone sign when working with you.
As a dog lover and breeder, I have a contract that requires any animal obtained from me be returned to me (no questions asked) if for some reason the owner cannot keep the dog. I would be pissed if someone broke a contract they had read and agreed to.

[ScorchedEarth]

Why do liberals cry over such stupid $hit?

[factanonverba]

Apparently because we have compassion and happen to be human. Conservatives are simply inhumane.

[maxfusion]

Stupidity doesn't equal compassion. She broke the contract, and that's that.

[Darwin48]

What, the way you rape-ugly-kins cry over money...yo­u heartless piece of crap!

[DMSmith]

Because we have a friggin' heart - something you don't seem to understand. By flogging 'liberals' in this way, you actually flog yourself.

[factotem]

I'm a liberal but Ellen is being a big wuss over this. Use your power, your money and your INTELLIGENCE (which would mobilize the previous two things) to overcome stupidity, don't play helpless, go to pieces on TV, and become a wimpy freakshow/­laughing-s­tock.

For God's sake she's a major media star. Who has the power here? Keep it together Ellen, this makes you look like a bad joke.

[Meah]

No, you look like a punk jerk. It appears that Ellen is a decent person, and despite her position, does not bully people. There are good people like her around. You would not understand this because you are obviously not as decent as she is, even though you claim to be liberal.

[PoHo]

You are no liberal you are probably George Bush's butt boy.

[gubblebumm]

what they did set back rescue efforts

and their organization as well

they could have turned this around, worked with Ellen, who most likely would have shared how wonderful an organization it was

but to "follow the rules to the letter" and the "law"- well their contract, without taking circumstances and the final result into consideration, they blew it big time