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 hand-off.
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 (today!). 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. 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.
A sobbing DeGeneres said on her show:
Because I did it wrong, those people went and took that dog out of their home, and took it away from those kids. I feel totally responsible for it and I’m so sorry. I’m begging them to give that dog back to that family. 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.
What’s your take on the situation? Should Mutts and Moms give the dog back to the hairdresser and how wrong (or right) was Ellen in giving the dog to a friend instead of taking it back to the agency?
Update: Watch the video of Ellen talking about the puppy mishap!
Updates:
-Sign the petition to free Iggy!
-Mutts and Moms site appears to be taken down. Will this be temporarily until the heat dies down or permanently?
- Mutts and Moms receiving death threats – read it HERE
-Iggy is given to a new home – read it HERE
-LA Times weighs in on “Iggygate” – read it HERE
-New allegations against Mutts and Moms comes to light – read it HERE
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This is one of the most awful things I ever heard of. People look the other way all the time if its not criminal and a good thing that they are loking away from.
They couldn’t have just interviewed the family?
This evil woman deserves all she gets for trying to “show a star she can’t push her around”.
Poor dog is back in a cage, worrying about the people he was pulled from.
They are sure mutts, but they don’t act like moms.
Nothing is too bad to happen to these folks, nothing.
So many people fail to understand what “adopting” an animal means. It does NOT mean that you own that animal and can do whatever you want with him/her. It means you have “adopted” him/her from an organization that approved YOU as an adopter. It is not your right to choose another home if you cannot keep the animal. Mutts and Moms had every right to do what they did and I commend them for not giving in to pressure. Their main concern is the well-being of the animals that they spend time helping, not the potential adoptive families.
I rescued my dog;who in return has rescued me(disabled) & my disabled son. She is our heart. I back Ellen’s decision because she did it out of love. The dog is loved & in a loving home. There was no reason to do this to the family Ellen knew well;except publicity for Mutts and Moms. So many animals suffer & concentration should be given to them. Not villianize a celebrity who took the time,money & heart to care for this puppy. My belief is Mutts and Moms deceived the family and took the action they did out of greed & not a true assessment of the puppy’s best interest. Not to mention 2 little girls are broken hearted. Being an animal advocate as Ellen is,I share her distress in this matter. And,I plead with Moms & Mutts to give the puppy back. This makes Moms and Mutts look very bad to me. Ellen,next time, go to the Humane Society. I signed I would keep my pet no matter what her ailments/problems. I got her w/ respiratory issues & dysplasia.HUD is representing me because of fair housing dispute that originated when my son & his emotional support service dog were discriminated from public place because of other owners not picking up their dog’s defecation. These things escalate, and so I got discriminated afterwards. And,all I was trying to do was keep my son’s emotional support service dog w/ him. Long story; but, evidence was given that our dog is a service dog by doctor. Yet, the greedy landlord’s let in a 100 lb weimeraner (for deposit),while saying my lease wouldn’t be renewed (after 8 yrs of being timely paid & good tenant) because my support dog was over 30 lbs. Animals are family to some of us. To others, their just a business…..
Only a few people with some sense commenting on here. Aimee said:
To everyone who LOVES animals:
Both parties involved have made a huge mistake. I LOVE all animal RESCUES. First off, Ellen did make the mistake, but she did it unknowingly & she did it with the best of intentions.Maybe she should have taken the adoption serious enough to read the contract. Secondly, the rescue organization jumped the gun a bit, but they did because their mission is the welfare of the dog. Rescue agencies take adoptions very seriously as they should. What needs to happen now is Ellen needs to make a legitimate statement on behalf of herself & MaM, not some acted out scene. She needs to ask the public to stop the threats. Then Ellen, Portia & MaM need to have a serious heart to heart. Obviously everyone loves Iggy & wants the best. WORK TOGETHER PEOPLE! DO this right, take the proper steps…now that Ellen & Portia know it was a mistake MaM need to help them make it right. Don’t withold Iggy from the new family out of spite toward Ellen. Interview the new family, like you would any other…..I’m an adopter of animals from rescue as well. PLease EVERYONE, get on the same page & stop the insanity. PLEASE. DO THE RIGHT THING.
Bottom Line – A contract is a contract. Too many “celebrities” get special treatment and national media play. It’s absurd. As a veterinarian who has worked for years with adoption groups, I understand and fully support Mutts and Moms for sticking to their contracts. They have a right to enforce (which they decide to do for good reasons) and they have a right to not be harrassed. Leave them alone and stop interfering with their group so they can get back to the good work they do. Every day that goes by that they are closed due to threats is another day a pet goes un-adopted. Who is being inhumane then? Leave them alone.
I understand where the adoption agency is coming from about not wanting people to adopt dogs and then just give them away, but Ellen found a good home for this dog and now I think that Mutts and Moms are just being selfish and are doing all of this to bring attention to themselves. The bad thing is it’s not the right kind of attention they should want. They have a perfect chance to turn Ellen’s oversight into an opportunity to bring animal adoption into the spotlight in a positive light. Now all they have done is alienate a lot of animal lovers who may have adopted from them. They will be lucky if they don’t go out of business for this. Get the paperwork straight and let Iggy go back to the family who already loves it. That is what animal adoption is all about…matching animals to families who will love and care for them and that is exactly what Ellen did.
“I understand and fully support Mutts and Moms for sticking to their contracts. They have a right to enforce (which they decide to do for good reasons)” (Arlen)
The issue here is they did NOT follow their own rules for the actual adoption. When they SAW the celebrity, they saw they never asked her for the adoption forms and she never filled them out. they didn’t go over the papers with her as they should have and point out the fine points as a reputable rescue would do. They told her hey sign here and the dog is yours. I have been a rescue for 35 + years and not a single application goes through without me sitting down and makeing certain that each applicant reads each and every word and understands the policies. and YEAH I have had certain celebrities adopt and they had to do it all by my book and not a single one asked for “Special” treatment. These women were bragging about how Ellen had chosen them and using it as a badge of honor. “OOOO guess who just adopted a Dog from US….” IF you cannot follow your OWN policies then you cannot expect those who are lead by your example to do otherwize. If you point OUT a rule that rule is enforced before it is broken. Do it right…
Of course, Ms. DeGeneres publicly states she didn’t read the fine print – admittedly difficult on a “non-existant” contract. However, contracts may be legally verbal. Death and other threats are narrow-minded and petty, but hardly insignificant. Two wrongs never make a right, do they?
I watched in astonishment and anger as Ellen broke down on national television. My anger was at the arrogance of Mutts and Moms in thinking an absolute animal lover like Ellen was incapable of picking a suitable home for a dog. My astonishment was at Ellen for taking full responsibility for the Militant attitude of the Mutts and Mom’s director. It shows the content of Ellen’s character that she chose to blame herself for the Militancy and heavy handedness of others.
In the course of their activities, the people at Mutts and Moms have foolishly allowed their (justifiable) anger toward the mistreatment of animals to cloud their judgement. To posters Arlan and and Teresa, understand that being Militant in ANYTHING is a mistake, it makes you the Bad Guy every time and only hurts your cause.
As of Today, Thursday October 18th, Iggy has been officially adopted by another family.
And, to add insult to injury the news media has confirmed from sources inside and close to Mutts and Moms that puppies have been allowed in other homes with children under the age of 14. It appears that Marina Baktis enforces the rules only when it can be used as weapon to get even with a celebrity.
I’ve always had the utmost of respect for people who rescue dogs as a life long avid dog lover, adoptive parent, foster parent, and volunteer. But, sadly Marina Baktis has changed that view. I can not condone her rigid holier than thou attitude and failure to simply admit she was wrong too.
And, I can not condone her statements immediately upon yanking the dog from the girls that she will never allow them to adopt Iggy (and that was stated long before the story hit the media too). If Marina had any intention of trying to compromise and work this out, she would never have immediately placed the dog up for others to adopt. She would have placed Iggy temporarily in a foster home until things could be ironed out in an amicable fashion. She was vindictive, unprofessional, and simply a poor sport. And, I’m saddened by her inability to be rational in her decision making processes concerning this adoption. She had an axe to grind because Ellen was a celebrity. And, doubtful Marina would have gone to such extremes if Ellen was an average unknown person.
Marina had every opportunity to do the right thing, and the public at large would have been more than accepting and forgiving….to error is to be human.
The local Pasadena Human Society President has made public statements stating she was appalled and saddened by Marina’s handling of this adoption. And, famous Lassie trainer and canine expert Robert Weathermax has also made statements stating how saddened he was by Marina’s inability to use sound, prudent judgment before taking the dog back.
The rule is good, but not having the flexibility to handle an unintentional violation is more foolish than I can imagine an organization would ever be.
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.â€
Access Hollywood has verified the corporation is still suspended as of today.
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.
Access Hollywood has placed a call to Mutts & Moms, as well as their attorney, for comment. No response was received at the time of publication.
*******************************************
If Mutts & Moms was operating under a suspension status, that opens up a whole nother can of worms. If they were not operating legally in the state of California, then any written contract, signed or not, would not be valid.
What has happened to Ellen’s other dogs? There are several blogs on this site that show both her and her partner with different dogs that they own. Did those dogs get along with Iggy? This makes me wonder if not everything is being communicated to the public. Was there something in Iggy’s past that would not allow him to be placed with children under 14? If so, I think the rescue did the right thing. Could they have handled it better? Sure. I have rescued dogs for several years. In a few cases, the dogs have been taken back…usually due to neglect, abuse, lack of vet care or violating terms of the contract. I have had the police come with me one time when I had to take a dog back. The person who had this dog was keeping it locked in a store room. This is not a good situation for a dog. Because of the personality and nature of the person involved, I had a policeman come with me to the house to get the dog. It was a tough situation, but I did not want to get into any sort of struggle over the dog. And, the dog had to be removed for its well-being. I am not saying that Ellen, her partner or the family she gave the dog to did any of these things. I just wish some people would realize there is always more to a situation that what we are told. Rescuing dogs in not a glorified business. It is hard, emotionally exhausting, difficult and, at times, VERY sad. If you only heard half of the reasons why people give up their dogs, it would make you sick. Then, there are back yard breeders, puppy mills and people that abuse their animals. It would make the happiest person in the world depressed. So, give a little credit to people that do this work, including Mutts and Moms. It is well deserved!
Agencies must have rules, I understand that…but I also understand that each situation should be handled on an individual basis–most noteably in a humane organization. The cavalier attitude of this organization toward the second adoptive family and toward Ellen–the attorney showed no class or understanding when he said Ellen was ‘sitting on her yacht’ while they took phone calls. First of all I am pretty sure Mr. Fink (yep, that’s his name) didn’t take any of those calls from his private office and second–that is Not how Ellen was handling this. SHE was trying to do what was best for the dog. My money will NOT go to this organization UNTIL they change the management who is responsible for this! In the long run, that is what will serve these animals best.
Anyone who has done any rescue work knows one or two horror stories about a person who gave away an adopted pet to a “trusted friend” and the dog was hurt, mistreated or worse. I get that most of the commenters are Degeneres fans, but please remember that Ms. DEGENERES is the one who didn’t follow her contractural obligation regarding Iggy. Had she done so, the home could have been vetted. Some rescues have policies against adopting small dogs into homes with small children, citing rough or hurtful treatment by the children. You all need to let up on Mutts & Moms. They do good work with admirable intentions. I find it sad that Ms. D feels that public pleas and tears should change the rules for her – what – because she is famous? Dogs don’t care about famous. The rules are the rules and they are there to protect the animals. Period. I don’t believe she broke the contract wilfully, but she did so and then assumed it would be forgiven because she is Ellen? I feel for the kids and I’m sorry Ellen is sad, but quit dumping on women who do work most folks wouldn’t have the heart for. God bless you Mutts & Moms. Maybe it could have been handled differently, but they in all likelihood have too much work for too many fur-kids and not enough time to do it. Ellen should just gut it up, apologize and maybe make a hefty donation to help more animals. That’s my feeling and I’m sure I’ll get blasted, but I care more about animals and their welfare than celebrities.
What the hellWrong You sell a dog and right their if they really cared about dogs they would take donations…no no they want money these women want to get rich to hell with who take the dogs its all about who can pay the most…They are money hungry people and need to be shut down. Please do not support these people who claim to be helping dogs. Have you any ideal how many loving good hearted people want a gog to love and spoil but cant afford the fees this place wants…sad sad sad. Its not about the animal its money. Ellen was not thinking of money she did not ask for money she asked that the dog be loved cared for and wanted…..but the mutts lady wanted money. Now they need to refund all the money Ellen gave them…They wont because its not about loving homes for animals its all about the money honey………DO NOT GET ANIMALS FROM THESE WOMEN
I’m sorry to say that I really can’t understand why everyone is so determined that the puppy go to the family that DeGeneres chose. If the “new” family is so wonderful, why on earth won’t they bother to go through the adoption process? It would require a quick trip to the “new” home to ensure that the situation is a good fit for Iggy and would make everyone happy.
Mutts and Moms does, really, a thankless job (though I’m sure they’d tell you, heartless as they are, that the knowledge that the puppies they save are safe and in good homes is thanks enough), and they have the animal’s best interests at heart.
What’s shameful about the whole situation is that although Marina handled the situation (if you’ve seen the e-mails – if not, go to The Smoking Gun) professionally, kindly, and compassionately, she was made out to be the “bad guy.” The situation was CLEARLY manipulated by Madame DeGeneres (and yes, I USED to be a fan), and Ms. Batkis was SMEARED unfairly.
Personally, I would consider it to be poetic justice if M&M, sued DeGeneres for defamation of character. At the very least, DeGeneres shouldn’t be sympathized with as much as these women who work so hard to save the very animals you’re “watching.”
Mutts & Moms:
If you’re taking the time (and the risk of stress) reading this, please know that there ARE people out there that know what you’re doing is selfless, kind, and just.
You are NOT in the wrong here. Degeneres is, for using the media to vilify you because she wasn’t able to get her way. You are HEROES. And by God, you should be treated as such. You do what very, very few people would ever have the stomach to do. Not just picking up dog doo, but finding animals who are injured and nursing them back to health. Seeing the abuses that man heaps on animals and still managing to find homes for these animals (I’d never trust another human again, if I saw what you have, I’m sure). You’re amazing people!!
I wish you the best of luck and best for the future. And for the animals’ sakes, I hope you go back to doing the miracles you do. God Bless you all!!
Hugs!!
CMP
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