I HATE ELLEN DEGENERES

I am not sure why people who are celebrities seem to think that they are above the law. Sure, they get away with more then someone like me, but you would think that they would be pleasantly surprised when catching a lucky break, as opposed to shocked and outraged at being forced to follow the rules.

In this case, I am taking about Ellen Degeneres and her deplorable behavior toward a rescue dog from Mutts and Moms.

I am totally siding with the rescue group. Ellen Degeneres was wrong. I used to like her but have become so upset over Ellen’s behavior that I am making a public vow to never watch her shows (either live or televised) again. Further, I have since thrown away my signed Ellen Degeneres poster, from way back in 1994 when she performed at my college.

For those of you unfamiliar with the controversy, here it is in a nutshell from Access Hollywood:

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 handoff.

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. She admitted she didn’t read all the paperwork involving the adoption.

Ummm, exactly. She did not read the paperwork.

I am extremely involved in the rescue community. I help to run a rescue group dedicated to re-homing Shiba Inus. I have volunteered at shelters and recently, have been working on socialization and training with rescue dogs, in order to make them more adoptable. So, while not an expert, I do know something about the subject.

And, here is what I do know: NYC Shiba Rescue (and other similar groups) all spend HOURS trying to match the right dog with the right family. We interview families, visit their homes, and otherwise make every attempt to ensure both the humans and the dogs will be happy together. We turn down people who do not meet our critera for a good home. We argue among ourselves about what the best match is and will not adopt out a dog until all this happens. And for this reason, we have adoption agreements.

Since our goal is to have to dog matched with the perfect home – and to make sure we can keep tabs to ensure that the home remains perfect – there is a clause in our adoption agreement which states that if an adopter finds that at any time during the life of the dog, for any reason they can not keep the adopted dog, they will contact us immediately and we have the first right to have the dog back. You can not give the dog away. You can not sell the dog. You have to give the dog back.

Now, while it has never happened to us yet, if someone called NYC Shiba Rescue to tell us that they could not keep their dog because it was terrorizing their cat, we would offer to come get the dog immediately or to work with the adopter on training. If the adopter did not want to keep the dog but suggested another family that had fallen in love with the dog, I am pretty sure we would tell the adopter to have the potential family contact us and then we would complete the adoption process with them. See, everyone wins.

Adopting an animal is a wonderful experience. I did not think I could ever love a dog as much as Tiki until Cody came along. But, it also comes with responsibilities and upholding an adoption agreement is one of those responsibilities (as is spaying/neutering and training). While Ellen Degeneres was willing to do the former, she did not bother with the latter. Why? I am not sure but I guess it was because she just didn’t think anyone would care.

But of course Mutts and Moms, just like NYC Shiba Rescue, does care. That is why they bother to mention it in an adoption agreement.

Of course, Ellen Degeneres also complained that she spent $3,000 on the dog. But that $3,000 did not seem important when she gave the dog away. And really, not to be petty, but what percentage of her income are we talking about? I mean really.

And now, according to a quick Google search, Mutts and Moms has been forced to suspend operations. Their petfinder account is de-activated and their links no longer work. So, instead of one dog going to a home that Ellen Degeneres did not pre-approve, no dogs are being adopted out by this organization. Simply translated, dogs are languishing in shelters because Ellen Degeneres is a selfish, horrible person. (If I were Suzanne I would call her a fucking cunt and douchbag bitch, but as you know, I refrain from swearing).

So I hereby publically announce that I am no longer a fan of Ellen Degeneres. Frankly, I am sorry I was ever a fan in the first place.