Mutts and Moms or Ellen DeGeneres - Who is in the Right?

Here are the facts:

• Ellen and her partner Portia adopted a puppy from the dog rescue, Mutts and Moms
• After 9 days Ellen and Portia decided a puppy (Iggy) was going to be too much work (puppies are a lot of work)
• They gave Iggy to Ellen’s hairdresser, who has two daughters, 11 and 12 years old
• Mutts and Moms found out and came and took Iggy back
• Ellen found out Mutts and Moms was coming to get the dog and arranged to have a film crew there to tape the event

This makes it sound like Mutts and Moms is kind of evil, taking a puppy away from a family who had taken it in.

But it is quite the contrary. Ellen and Portia were in the wrong to give Iggy away. Why? Several reasons:

• Ellen and Portia signed a contract with Mutts and Moms
• The contract stated that if the adoptive parent(s), for whatever reason, cannot keep the dog that the dog must be returned to the rescue
• Rescues have adopting owners sign a contract to protect the dogs

It is customary for dog rescues to have their adopting families sign a contract. The contract states several things, including that if for any reason in the future the family must give up the dog, the dog must be returned to the rescue. The family cannot give the dog away.

This is to protect the dogs from ending up in shelters or with owners who do not care for the dog properly. Adopting families are carefully interviewed and the home is inspected to make sure that this is a good home for the dog.

The hairdresser and her daughters might have given Iggy a wonderful home. But they were never interviewed by Mutts and Moms, nor did they sign a contract with the rescue. The hairdresser could have taken Iggy to the local shelter some day and Mutts and Moms would have never known.

If the hairdresser and her daughters want a dog, they are free to request a dog from Mutts and Moms or go to their local animal shelter and adopt one. There are thousands of dogs sitting in Southern California animal shelters who would love to be adopted.

Meanwhile, there is absolutely no need to put down or threaten Mutts and Moms (there have been death threats, believe it or not). The two ladies who run it give their time and energy rescuing dogs from shelters who would otherwise be euthenized. They focus on rescuing female dogs who are expecting puppies (that’s where the name “Moms” comes from).

Ellen was wrong to take this public and use her TV show as a platform to air her grievances. She was wrong to give Iggy away instead of returning him to the rescue. She is damaging the name of dog rescues everywhere because people do not understand how rescues work. They only see Ellen on TV, crying that her dog was taken away, and they never stop to think why the rescue did it.

Rescuing dogs is a time-consuming, costly, and often thankless work. Many rescues go under because the operators get burnt out with the work and the expense. But without them thousands and thousands of dogs would be living on the street or end up euthenized. Instead, these dogs are living with loving families, thanks to the people who run these dog rescues.

Please let people know the truth of what happened with Iggy. Iggy is not sitting in some cage, sad and dejected, as I read in one blog. He has already been placed in a loving home and will have a good life, thanks to Mutts and Moms.