Here is a brief rundown of the Ellen and Iggy ordeal.
Ellen Dengeneres and Portia de Rossi adopted a pet dog named Iggy from an adoption agency named Mutts & Moms.
Ellen and Portia were unhappy with how Iggy was interacting with their cats so Ellen decided to give Iggy to her haidresser who has two daughters 11 and 12.
Ellen had signed a contract with Mutts & Moms that forbid her from giving Iggy to any other family if she decided not to keep him as a pet. Iggy had to be returned to Mutts & Moms.
Mutts & Moms reclaimed the pet from Ellen's hairdresser's family.
Ellen then issued an emotional appeal on her show begging Mutts & Moms to return the dog to the hairdresser's famiy.
Ellen's appeal resulted in some of Ellen's crazier fans issuing death threats against Marina Baktis, the women who runs Mutts & Moms.
The latest news is that Ellen has said the reaction has gotten out of hand. She says he won't talk about it anymore on the show unless somehow Iggy is returned to her hairdresser's family.
On Petfinder's website there is a statement that says "Mutts and Mom has chosen to temporarily inactivate their website on Petfinder.com because their email inbox and voice mail are overwhelmed." They also explain why most 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.
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.
Despite the plea from Ellen the issue isn't dying out and columnists and bloggers are continuing to discuss the story. Here's a roundup of some other posts and news articles.
The Pet Haven says Ellen's wrong doesn't make the shelter right. "This shelter is worried about the wrong things, and their practices of not placing the dog in the forefront makes me wonder about dealing with shelters as a whole."
12-year-old Ruby, the daughter of Ellen's hairstylist, says she loves Iggy and she just wants him back.
An article on PetConnection.com says, "Even if DeGeneres should have contacted them, even if she should have read the contract, even if she had demonstrated Britney-esque levels of celebrity 'your laws do not apply to me' ego (which she did not), isn't the important thing the well-being of the dog rather than the letter of the contract? What matters more, his happiness or some arbitrary age cut-off?"
Dogster has a thread about Ellen, Iggy and Mutts and Moms.
Ellen's statements can also be found here and here on the show's website.
My Friendly Pets asks, "Why couldn’t the rescue organization, investigate and interview the family as potential owners without disrupting the dog and the adjustment he had made to his new home? It seems to me to be cruel to the dog to have so many changes in its young life."
Animal Hubub: "My opinion is that since Ellen gave him to her hairdresser, whom she knew and trusted, and who also loved Iggy, isn't that all that really matters?"
A Washington Post blog explains a way for Ellen to get out of the doghouse.
A blog called Celebrity Dog Watcher says Iggy has been given to a different home.
Here is a brief rundown of the Ellen and Iggy ordeal.
