Ellen DeGeneres has had a dog of a week. Ellen adopted ‘Iggy’ from a
rescue shelter named Mutts and Moms animal shelter in Pasadena, California. Unfortunately, the dog could not get along with Ellen’s cats.
Thinking she was doing the right thing, Ellen gave the dog to her hairdresser's 11 and 12-year-old daughters. The shelter found out and stepped in stating their policy: DeGeneres had signed an agreement that if she cold not keep the dog she would give it back to the shelter. In addition, the shelter says it has a policy of not giving puppies to families with children younger than 14.
Ellen DeGeneres, a typically upbeat host, broke down in tears during her show stating: "Today is a hard day for me. Today is bad. I am not capable of coming out and pretending to be funny … when things are going so terribly wrong right now," DeGeneres said.
She began to cry and stated: "I feel totally responsible for it and I'm so sorry," she said on air. "I'm begging them to give that dog back to that family. I just want the family to have their dog. 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."
Marina Batkis, the owner of Mutts and Moms, says she's looking out for the best interests of the puppy. "If Ellen wants to start her own rescue group then she can decide where the dogs go," Batkis said. "Who is she to say who is a good home and whose not? And who is she to say where I should place my animals and how I should do this? I don't tell her how to run her show."
‘Good Morning America’ played a message from Degeneres public relations representative: "We're filing a legal case against you. We're going to be contacting the media. This is not going to be good for your store or your organization."
‘Mutts and Moms’ Batins says she absolutely has no intention of giving the puppy back, in response to how she has been treated.
Unfortunately, this entire episode takes away from a real need. There are so many dogs, cats and other pets that need a home. Whether you side with Ellen DeGerneres, or Mutts and Moms, it does not matter. What is most important is that they should be spending the lawyer’s money and media time on adopting out more pets needing a good home. The passion of the moment is losing focus on what is really important. I am sure Iggy is receiving many requests to be adopted due to this media storm. But, what about the others?
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
