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Ellen DeGeneres Learns Tough Lesson
Oh Ellen DeGeneres, beloved talk show host, how could you be so ... human? DeGeneres and long-time partner Portia De Rossi adopted a dog who, despite their best efforts ($3,000 on training!?!), could not make friends with their cats. So the couple gave the Brussels Griffon mix named Iggy to their hairdresser and her family. Everything was fine until the rescue group Mutts & Moms called to see how Iggy was settling in. That's when things began to get interesting.
The adoption contract stipulated that if the adopter could not keep the dog, he must be returned to the rescue. That is a standard practice of rescue groups. Why go through the painstaking matchmaking process of adoption applications, references checks and home visits if the dog is just going to be given away again? That's how many dogs end up in rescue in the first place. In a video on her Web site, DeGeneres says the whole point of rescue is finding a good home for the dog. That's right -- the RESCUE finds the home, not the adopter who decides to give up the dog.
DeGeneres's heart was in the right place, but she still needs to follow the rules just like the rest of us. If the family was indeed a good match, there's no reason why the rescue wouldn't have adopted the dog to them once notified of the situation. Now the rescue is in a bad spot. If they adopt out Iggy to someone else, the other family and DeGeneres will make a big stink. If the rescue gives Iggy back to the family, it sets a terrible precedent for all future adoptions. It's a shame that both parties couldn't have handled this in a more civilized fashion, for everyone's sake.
Julia Kamysz Lane
October 18, 2007 in Current Affairs, Legislation, media, Volunteer | Permalink
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Comments
I think almost everybody fluffed this load.
So who did the screening that got the dog into *Ellen's* home in the first place? They didn't ask her if she had other pets, and if so, what kind? They hadn't tested the dog's compatibility with cats? Was someone at the rescue just so excited about having a high-profile adoption that they didn't do the basic background and home checks?
Nobody went over the contract with Ellen verbally? Yes, it's the adopter's responsibility to read and understand the thing...but a clause-by-clause briefing by the agency rep would remove all doubt that this had occurred.
And we already know that Ellen screwed up by handing the dog off to anybody but the rescue. What *was* she thinking.
The only people that didn't screw up (so far, that I know of) were the hairdresser's family. They accepted the dog from Ellen in good faith. (Oops.) The rescue could have just run the normal checks for that home. They could do it even now. But that'd make too much sense...
Posted by: Marius | Oct 18, 2007 10:12:04 PM
I've seen lots of people state that Iggy was "well-cared for" in the home of the hairdresser, and that's a valid reason to leave him there. You know, no one knows if the hairdresser's home was good! Maybe they have a history of dumping dogs, maybe they get puppies and then don't have time for them when they get older... none of us have any idea about those things. There are lots of people who love animals but who are, for one reason or another, not very good owners.
And I, too, am bewildered by the claim that Ellen spent $3K on training. According to one story I read, she only had the dog in her home for 10 days.
Posted by: Leigh-Ann | Oct 18, 2007 6:50:01 PM
I feel badly for the dog. Period. That's what Ellen was trying to stress on her show today. What I am overwhelmed with are now the death threats. That's unbelievable to me.
People may've made mistakes. I think everyone can agree on that. *Who* was *more* in the wrong is, frankly, irrelevant.
As I make the point in my own article is that it's about love and this dog.
If Iggy is, indeed given to another family - as I think he has been - I think to tear him from *that* home would be wretched. For God's sake. Iggy needs some damn stability and we can't go back and undo what's been done so if he is in a good family now - great.
Those poor girls will grieve. Ellen was human. I disagreed with the woman from Mutts and Moms just snatching Iggy away - THAT was awful. BUT. Now that it's done...what can be done to return to impeccability?
We'll all handle things poorly and less than honorably from time to time but we can get back on track when we quit what iffing and casting aspersions and blame. You know? Thanks for your well balanced article.
Yours is the only one I have responded to since I began receiving alerts. It's been the most sane sounding. :)
I agree with Eliza in that the rules are in place for a reason but when the heart becomes involved the rules should be the last thing on anyone's mind. it need not set any precedent. Only humans are seemingly capable of all or nothing mindset; there is plenty of room to individualize situations in my opinion because we all have different life paths.
Namaste.
Posted by: Samsara | Oct 18, 2007 5:34:16 PM
As a member of a rescue team, I would like to disagree. What we want for the dog is a good home. Ellen did not read the contract. The dog was not returned to the group. The dog was loved and well cared for. Return the dog to the home where he was loved.
We all get much to caught up in rules. Even the best intended adoptions just sometimes do not work out even when they have exceeded every profile we could think of. Make the point and then return the dog.
Posted by: Eliza | Oct 18, 2007 12:47:22 PM
