Ellen Duh Generous With Tears Over Shelter Dog

The Smoking Gun Web site presents an email trail between the Ellen De Generes' household, her hairdresser and the owners of Mutts & Moms, the dog adoption agency smeared in the whole DeGeneres interlude. The incident, as you will recall, was a lot of brouhaha over a little dog named Iggy.

DeGeneres initially shed copious tears on TV about the fate of a Iggy, a moptop with some Brussels Griffon mixed in. Oy, the pooch plight. DeGeneres charged Iggy had been swiped from a loving home by Mutts & Moms, the agency where she adopted the animal.

Mind you, the dog was not swiped from Ellen's manse. The star had already booted out the adoptee only a few days after getting him. Perhaps DeGeneres didn't want the bad publicity of giving back a shelter dog so she handed off Iggy to her hairdresser whose kids, apparently, became smitten with the sprite -- until the dog was taken away. DeGeneres broke the rules. She wasn't supposed to rehome the dog as per terms of a contract with the agency. DeGeneres' public sob story propelled the Mutts & Moms founders into instant notariety. Apparently, they have already given Iggy to another owner.

For her part, DeGeneres must feel she's created a monster and now wants all the dog kerfuffle to go away because it's become nothing but a big bowl of bad for her. She canceled the taping of two shows so she could rest from all the Iggy ignominy. When she returned to the air, her ratings rose.

No matter what the truth -- and the New York Post's Page Six offered this report-- the fact remains Iggy was roughly handled by all entitled parties. DeGeneres and her partner, Portia de Rossi, were impatient and irresponsible to bring a dog into an environment where he was doomed to fail. (By the way, whatever happened to DeGeneres' other sweeps stunt shelter dog Lucy? Has she also been dumped?) They were cavalier to throw cash around and think Iggy would be instantly trained.

DeGeneres acted recklessly by allowing her celebrity to override an agreement with the small agency. The Mutts & Moms owners could have been overwhelmed by DeGeneres' power grab for a highly-desirable small dog. They may have initially bent to accommodate the star. DeGeneres showed disregard when she handed off Iggy to staff. And the whole reeking daytime TV affair will continue to haunt "Ellen." The host's loud love of animals is supposedly a hallmark image of the show. No more -- especially with this story suggesting DeGeneres has made a habit out of dumping dogs.

Dog Lady encourages considerate, thoughtful, intelligent adoption of shelter dogs. Understand the contract. Give the dog a chance. An expensive dog trainer can't train the dog to live with you or like you. You must do the heavy lifting. Allow two to six months for bonding, training and adjusting. Dog Lady hears often from people who want to give the dog back. In these cases, she always counsels persistence. Don't hand the living creature over to your hairdresser or anyone else. Iggy, oblivious to "Access Hollywood," seems the only innocent party. He deserves so much better than to be tossed around like a fuzzy football in a high-stakes publicity game.

Posted by Dog Lady at October 17, 2007 09:27 AM