Watch video of Ellen DeGeneres sobbin.

[PomeranianCrazy]

The video is to the right of the page. (turn your volume up)

http://tv.yahoo.com/contributor/33469/news/urn:newsml:tv.ap.org:20071016:people_degeneres__ER


This made me cry!

[brunosmom]

awwww...link didnt work for me :(

[iwantmypup]

Oh my, poor Iggy and poor Family.. and poor Ellen.
:( This made me really sad


Jan, just go to yahoo.com then it should be there on the page.

[brunosmom]

Thanks Ali!!!
Awwww......poor Ellen!!!! :( Poor Iggy!!!! :( Poor Kids!!!!!:(
Rescue.... :mad: :mad: :mad:

[PomeranianCrazy]

I changed link and her videos on the homepage of yahoo.com too

[The Muttlies]

How horrible. I haven't followed the story at all but by the sounds of it the rescue could have just kept the dog in the home, it sounded perfectly fine. :(

[skunkstripe]

WOW! You can't say she was acting irresponsibly. The poor kids, how are they supposed to understand?

[Flatcoatluver]

In a way I can understand why the rescue took the dog, and maybe after doing a home check I hope they can give the dog back to his forever home.

[KatzNK9]

I think we should all find the email of Mutts and Moms & tell them to go back to that family, do a home inspection & give that dog back! So sad.

[iwantmypup]

No problem at all Jan:)

Good idea Katz!

[Julia73]

While I am sad at the situation IMO Ellen did act very irresponsibly. She signed a contract stating that the dog would go back to the rescue if she was unable to keep it which is the standard for any rescue or responsible breeder for that matter. If she had done what the contract stated the kids would not have been put through such a traumatic event losing their dog. On the other side of it though I think that the rescue could have handled it a lot better by doing a home visit and seeing how the family interacts with the dog etc. before swooping in a taking the dog. You would think that a person of her stature would be used to reading contracts before signing them. Ellen caused this mess and I don't feel sad for her but I certainly do for the family that took the dog. I hope that the rescue will follow up and return the dog. Oh and I have to say kudos to Ellen for owning up to her mistake that takes great courage for someone to do that publicly saying that they made the mistake and are the person that is responsible. I applaud her for that!

[PomeranianCrazy]

Oh and I have to say kudos to Ellen for owning up to her mistake that takes great courage for someone to do that publicly saying that they made the mistake and are the person that is responsible. I applaud her for that!


Very well said!!;)

[KatzNK9]

Ellen caused this mess and I don't feel sad for her but I certainly do for the family that took the dog. I hope that the rescue will follow up and return the dog. Oh and I have to say kudos to Ellen for owning up to her mistake that takes great courage for someone to do that publicly saying that they made the mistake and are the person that is responsible. I applaud her for that!

Agreed!:drunken:

[KatzNK9]

More on this story:

Rescue Says It's Keeping Ellen DeGeneres' Dog (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21336607/)

Partial quote:


The dog was removed from the hairstylist's home on Sunday. The owners of Mutts and Moms claimed that DeGeneres violated the adoption agreement by not informing them that she was giving the dog away.

Mutts and Moms owners Marina Batkis and Vanessa Chekroun were in possession of the dog and will not be giving it back, attorney Keith A. Fink told The Associated Press.
"She (Marina) is not going to give them the dog," said Fink, who is not legally representing the owners but is authorized to speak on their behalf.

"She doesn't think this is the type of family that should have the dog. She is adamant that she is not going to be bullied around by the Ellen DeGenereses of the world ... They are using their power, position and wealth to try to get what it is they want."



DeGeneres' publicist Kelly Bush confirmed De Rossi had signed the agreement, although DeGeneres' name also was listed.

"She (Ellen) was wrong by not reading the agreement," Bush told the AP in a phone interview. "She thought she was doing a good thing. She's notorious for rescuing animals and finding them good homes. She found the dog a wonderful, wonderful home."
Fink asserted that DeGeneres and De Rossi had breached the agreement.



Fink said Moms and Mutts has a rule that families with children under 14 are not allowed to adopt small dogs.

"It's for the protection of the dog," he said.


14 Years Old for small dogs??? Argh!!!!! :mad:

[Christine283]

14 Years Old for small dogs??? Argh!!!!! :mad:

Yeah.

This deserves a WT..heck. :wtf:

[skunkstripe]

I've heard that more than once about small breed rescues. They have some pretty strict adoption requirements as far as kids' ages go. Apparently they are afraid that the dog might get injured. Personally I would rather see it done on a case-by-case basis, but they usually stick to their guns when it comes to their policies.

[mermaid2708]

excuse my french...but this is just bl@@dy ridiculous...yes ellen made a mistake by not taking the pup back to the rescue center...but how many here can honestly say they could return a dog to a center??? she found a lovely forever home with a family she knows well and continued to show a lot of interest in the dogs welfare. surely the best thing would be to home check the family and let them keep iggy??? as for the mutts and moms rescue saying no dogs to under 14's...that is too stupid for words, the adults would be adopting the dog, not the kids...and having already got a dog in the home it is obvious that the family are not taking on the puppy 'blind' so to speak...this sort of thing makes me so angry......aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

[Christine283]

digg article with comments here (http://digg.com/celebrity/Humane_Society_Condemns_Mutts_and_Moms_for_Seizing _Ellen_Degeneres_Pooch)

[KatzNK9]

Death threats? Eeekgads, people definitely take things way too far when they get riled up about these things.

Death Threats Won't Sway Rescue Group to Return Dog Ellen DeGeneres Gave Away (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,302527,00.html)

The owners of the doggy rescue agency that snatched back the pup that Ellen DeGeneres gave away say they are not going to bow to death threats and overwhelming pressure from the talk show host and her fans, and they will not return the dog to DeGeneres' hairdresser.

"It's never gonna happen," attorney Keith A. Fink, who is representing the owners of the Mutts and Moms agency, told FOXNews.com. "There is more of a chance that the Yankees are going to win the World Series this year."

Mutts and Moms dismissed DeGeneres' tearful plea on her talk show Tuesday, maintaining that DeGeneres violated her contract by not informing them that she was giving away the dog, a Brussels Griffon terrier mix named Iggy.

"They are not going to be bullied by the Ellen DeGeneres (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,302527,00.html#) camp," Fink said. "It's Hollywood culture — she thinks she's above the contract and the law."

[sheplovr]

She signed the contract not to rehome the dog. She did not know better and gave her hair dresser with two kids. Rescue said not right home for this dog and is not letting them have it. They said she had no right to do this. She knew she had cats, this is why it did not get along with her cats. Poor dog, now where will it end up?

[KatzNK9]

More info still coming out. It definitely appears that there are two sides to this ugly & sad story.

Agency Barks Back At Ellen (http://www.nypost.com/seven/10172007/gossip/pagesix/pagesix.htm)

Partial quote:



But Keith Fink, a lawyer for Mutts & Moms, tells Page Six's Marianne Garvey it's all an act. Behind the scenes, DeGeneres' publicist was calling the small agency and threatening it, says Fink, who played a vicious voice-mail message for us:

"This is Kelly Bush. We are filing a legal case against you. We are going to be contacting the media. This is not going to be good for your store or your organization. You did not do the right thing. You need to call back. There is no reason for you to take this dog. Please call back before this gets further out of hand."

"Ellen's lying," said Fink. "She is using her power and her access to the media to destroy this agency in the media. This is a woman who has signed many seven-figure contracts. She knows what she signed."

According to Fink, after yesterday's show aired, Ellen's fans bombarded Mutts & Moms' owner, Marina Batkis, with threatening calls to "burn her house down." One fan said, "You slimeball (profanity edited out) are not worthy of living. How dare you make Ellen cry. Give Iggy back!"

Bush denied making threats. "I have not left any threatening messages at all," she said. "The agency threatened to go to the media and I said that wouldn't be a good idea. I told them there's just no need to escalate this . . . They started this by wanting to take it public. I was the one who said, 'Let's talk about this.' "

[skunkstripe]

Oh dear. There is a real danger when a celebrity gets into the public eye in a negative way like this. She will do whatever she can to protect her image, and the rescue will have a hard time fighting her with what I assume are limited resources. This could backfire.

[Cassidy]

I've been reading blogs on cnn and msn regarding this situation and I am appalled at the hatred being spewed. The only ones that are going to suffer from this misdirected onslaught of anger are the other animals in that shelter. I'm sure people will start advocating for a boycott. They have had to shut their phone and e-mail off because of all this negative attention which I'm sure is hindering their ability to place animals. Iggy will find a home, especially after all of this. Those two children will get over it and move on. What did the rescue agency do wrong? Enforce their contract? Ellen should have found a dog more suitable for her home, like perhaps one that was known to have lived harmoniously with cats previously. She should have read her contract (which I'm not sure I believe she didn't). She is the one at fault here. I know people don't understand why a dog was removed from a loving home, but if they made the exception in this widely public case then they would be forced to do it again in the future. Either way, people have their opinions. But the hatred coming from such animal-loving people is only negatively impacting the other homeless animals in the shelter. This isn't directed at anyone on this forum - it's been the only feedback I've read about this that hasn't been downright mean!

[skunkstripe]

This story is probably good for a week's worth of "news," probably we'll get to see the hairdresser and her kids will be shown crying.

As of this writing, the shelter has even pulled their listings and description from petfinder and petfinder has issued this statement on a redirect:
Many shelters and rescue groups insist, through their adoption agreements, that if a pet cannot stay with his adoptive family, the adopters must return him to the group. Why do they do this?

Between 500,000 and 1 million pets adopted from shelters and rescue groups find themselves homeless and in the shelter once again.

One foster mom said it best, "I found the dog on the street, starving. I nursed her back to health. She slept in my bed. I sang her back to sleep when she had nightmares when she first came to me. Then I adopted her to a wonderful family. A year later, I got a call from animal control because she was at the shelter and she was going to be euthanized. The family had gotten divorced and she ended up on death row!"

This too-common experience leads rescue groups and shelter to put strict policies in place governing what happens if the adoption doesn't work out. In effect, the rescue group and shelters are promising to always be there as a safety net for the pets. This can be very comforting to adopters.
more at the source: http://www.petfinder.com/statement.html

[lovingpaws]

This is really sad all around. The policy to return the pet is violated many times. When volunteering at spca I know of several dogs that were adopted out, and returned to us from animals services, which is were the adopter returned them too, or even found as a stray when family just moved & left the dog behind. The policy is a good one, since the percentage of abandoning these adopted pets is very high.

I do believe that this shelter could have at least done a home check and been more flexable in this case, or even in future. Each home is different and children mature differently.

[skunkstripe]

Sure enough, the saga continues.
To her credit, Ms Degeneres has asked for calm:
"Let me just say this, it's gotten out of hand," DeGeneres said on the segment to air Thursday. "I want nothing, nothing more than that dog returned to that family. But you don't resort to violence. So anybody out there, please stop that. Please don't threaten or do whatever."

And now the lawyer for the rescue is saying they might have made an exception to their policy if Ellen had asked first instead of deciding on her own.

more along with comments from the ASPCA at the source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303198,00.html

[PomeranianCrazy]

Wow this issue is a big mess! Poor Iggy

[agilityk9trainer]

I just signed a contract for my new puppy last night. It says that if I ever have to give the puppy up, it should go to the breeder. How simple is that? It's not rocket science, and it's a normal contract for a good breeder. Too bad Ellen didn't follow her contract.

[Cassidy]

Actually I thought I saw a news article this morning with a caption that read "Iggy goes to 3rd home" so I'm assuming Iggy is placed again. It's more like poor other animals in the custody of that rescue agency. Due to all the "animal lovers" hate mail - they've had to temporarily shut down their business. So now those animals get to wait even longer for a home. Ellen never should have brought this situation into the public. The only ones suffering now are the other animals.

[xcolbi]

Aww, that's so sad! :(

[PomeranianCrazy]

The only ones suffering now are the other animals.


Yes, very true!

[lovingpaws]

I watched the 'Ellen" show, beginning, and she did ask for calm and this is out of control. she also spoke about forgiveness:confused: Not knowing what she meant by who should be doing it. I think both side. The shelter is in a spot because the lady is stubborn and won't back down, and Ellen caused the issue by using her celeb status.

[iwantmypup]

I'm with Ellen.. and the hair dresser.. and Iggy.
Mutts and Moms lady is mean.

[lovingpaws]

Here is a video of the family involved/child and Ellen & Porshe, Part of it in on our local ABC News


http://www.tmz.com/2007/10/18/ellen-portia-rush-to-home-where-iggy-was-taken/

[KatzNK9]

Rescue group in Iggy dispute suspended in ‘06 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21367733/)

Mutts & Moms’ suspension is still in effect, so Ellen’s contract may be void

LOS ANGELES - As the controversy over Ellen’s dog adoption gone awry continues, Access Hollywood has learned that Mutts & Moms may have other business issues to contend with that could affect their position in the Iggy dispute.

According to the California Secretary of State’s Web site, the Mutts & Moms corporation has been suspended since December 2006, when they failed to file a “statement of information.”

Access Hollywood has verified the corporation is still suspended as of today.

The “statement of information” is a document that lists who their officers are. However, as soon as the form is submitted, the agency can revive their corporation.

As a result of the suspension, enforcing the contract with Ellen and Portia may be impossible for the agency, as both the original adoption of Iggy and the date the agency reclaimed possession of the pet happened after the suspension began.

[skunkstripe]

And Ellen has canceled the taping of the show over this.
Ellen DeGeneres' talk show was put on hold for a day because of her emotionally wrenching dog-adoption drama. "It's been a long week and a tough week and we decided to take a long weekend and be back on Tuesday," said Laura Mandel, a spokeswoman for Telepictures Productions, which produces The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-10-18-degeneres-taping_N.htm?csp=34

What a mess! Is this because she is so upset or is it to get more publicity I wonder.....?

[lovingpaws]

Rescue group in Iggy dispute suspended in ‘06 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21367733/)

Mutts & Moms’ suspension is still in effect, so Ellen’s contract may be void

And Ellen has canceled the taping of the show over this.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-10-18-degeneres-taping_N.htm?csp=34

What a mess! Is this because she is so upset or is it to get more publicity I wonder.....?

Boy what are these people thinking. obviously all involved are not. The shelter is stuck in a corner and doesn't want to back down, & Ellen has the benifit of celeb status. This would not be news if it was "Jane Doe"

[Julia73]

This really is turning into a complete mess!! I am still on the side of the rescue though (kinda and I will explain shortly). Rescues, shelters and responsible breeders have these rules in effect for the welfare of the dog and no other reason. As we all know there are far too many people out there that believe their dogs are disposable on a whim and because of contracts like these it keeps these dogs from going to potentially dangerous or unstable homes where it will likely end up back in the shelter or re-homed yet again. I even have contracts with all of my fosters as well stating that if they can not keep the dog they are to bring it back to me and not re-home it. BUT the rescue also made several mistakes, they should have temper tested the dog before allowing it to go to a home with cats. I'm sure that they knew that Ellen had cats why didn't they do a home visit with the dog and see how it reacted to the cats before approving her app? Another case of celebrity favorism? Personally I do a few home visits with the dog before approving an app for adoption with any of my fosters so that I can watch the interaction with each member of the family including other animals and if I don't feel it's a good fit then I won't approve the app. simple as that. I also don't agree with the 14 yr old policy I think it should be done on a case by case basis. If they were doing what a responsible rescue would do and making home visits with the dogs etc. it would be easy to make an assesment on children in the home and not have to go by a strict age policy. Now for the people making any type of threats...do you really think that is going to get you anywhere??? I'm mean really now grow up! I am allways willing to speak with anyone and hear their opinions or views on any given subject but when it starts coming down to threats or name calling or just plain rudeness I dig my heels in even more. If you want someone to listen to you make sure that you present your case as a well thought out and well spoken manner chances are they will at least listen and respond in an equaly respectfull manner.

Julia

[KatzNK9]

I totally agree that this has gone too far. The sad part about all of this is that the innocent family was hurt & the dog has now been bounced around once again. I still think the shelter should have done a more thorough consultation with the family before making a demand for the dog back &/or assisting them in becoming the proper family for the dog if there were concerns. I truly don't believe there were legitimate concerns for the benefit of this particular dog. I think the shelter knew quite well that they'd be famous by morning after taking on Ellen & her friends. I'm not so sure the celebrity involved was the one looking for some outrageous press.