Bet the name recorded on the chip would have been changed if she had met the terms of the adoption. This whole thing came to light when they did their follow up and, it's clear from De Generis' own response, she didn't live up to the terms of the agreement.

Why would they record her as the owner when she had violated the terms of the provisional period?

Tell you what I've learned from this whole episode: never trust Ellen DeGeneris. She has very poor judgment, makes immature & inappropriate decisions, abandons responsibilities, practices emotional extortion and abuses the airways.

So I see the Agency did the right thing by finding this dog a proper home unlike Ellen who gave it away when she determined it did not work for her.

Now Ellen can apologize, donate some money to Moms and Mutts for smearing their name and get on with her life.

Moms and Mutts what did you sell it to the highest bidder since it was own by a celeb!
No doubt, look at yourself now. Closed your web so not to take the flack!
Now let see who has there tail between there legs, once you get investigated! Animal rights activist are out for you.

I like Ellen, but these animal rescue shelters aren't interested in the dog owners, they are interested in the welfare of the dog. And if a dog is placed in a home they deem suitable, why shouldn't they be concerned when the dog ends up somewhere else.
Why doesn't the family apply to the rescue shelter to get the dog back?
I did lose a little respect for Ellen. Not for crying on the air or using her show to hammer an agency doing its job, but for picking cats over a dog.

All I know is, I've got a good home for Portia ;-)

This was handled wrong by all parties.
Ellen should have known the small print, known what the policies were. They're not abitrary; they're in place for a reason. For every 10 Ellens, there's one asshole who won't do what's in the best interest of the dog.
If the shelter were smart, they'd realize that this was not a case of abandonment; this was someone who did everything right: vets visits, neutering, training... and nothing would help the situation that the dog wasn't getting along with the cats already in the home (whether that should have been addressed first is another debate entirely.) Ellen found the dog a suitable, loving home. Was honest with the shelter when they followed up... and they went in and scooped up the dog. Too much power & control & too many rules trumping common sense. The guidelines seem to have no other intent than to ensure the welfare, health & safety of the dogs. But to adhere to them so rigidly is to lose sight of what your goal was. The shelter needs the ability to make judgements on a case by case basis.
Taking it to her show gave Ellen a bully pulpit the shelter doesn't have but I don't doubt for a second her sincerity.
They should have ALL gone on the air & told the story.
Ellen already admitted her wrongdoing.
The shelter should have acknowledged the rules were broken, explained that rules aren't there for them to be the bad guys but to ensure the welfare of the animals and explain that although they are bending their policy, all parties realize what an incredible platform to educate the TV audience about adopting animals rather than buying purebreds; about how many animals are euthanized and how you can rescue a dog or cat from that fate; how you can get involved with a rescue/shelter organization in your area...

But they all squandered what could have been a win-win situation for everyone.

I really think Ellen is making a huge mistake by playing this out in public and using her show to make the animal rescue worker's life hell. Ellen needs to announce on her show that her fans should not be contacting this woman personally. She is even receiving death threats.

For heaven's sake, if Ellen thinks this is insane then maybe she should stop bawling about it on TV. Pet shelters have rules, you need to follow them. The shelter acted responsibly, Ellen did not. She needs to shut up and stop whining about it. Now she's got people calling in death threats to the poor shelter, which is only following its rules. Grow up, Ellen and act like an adult!

Oh to have the luxury
of getting upset
over bullshit.

Every 4 seconds, someone dies of starvation.

How many will this stupid little dog feed???

I know Ellen is a good egg but I will betcha that celebrity dog-ditching (Paris, Madonna, etc.) is more common than we'd like to believe. Where is Tinkerbell the Chihuahua, Paris?

What the hell kind of policies does this organization have anyway? Must be a celebrity shelter. People should start going to the animal shelters instead of some kind of hoity-toity place like this. They probably don't even take in animals over 3 years old or animals that are overweight or have fleas. They probably need a pedigree to get in. How idiotic. Give the dog back to those kids. I can see donations drying up.

That pet shelter sounds worse than the guy Madonna dealt with who couldn't decide if his son was up for adoption or was still his.