Animal rescuers refuse to budge on DeGeneres' former dog

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By Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres pledged allegiance to her cats and lost her dog Iggy on a technicality, or so she told her TV audience on Oct. 15.

DeGeneres said she gave the dog to her hairdresser after it didnt mix well with her cats, a no-no in the eyes of the rescue agency from which DeGeneres got the pup.

“I guess I signed a piece of paper that says if I can’t keep Iggy, it goes back to the rescue organization, which is not someone’s home, which is not a family,” she said in a show transcript provided to the Associated Press.

DeGeneres is pleading for the dog to be returned to her hairdresser, who she writes in an Oct. 16 Internet post has two young girls already in love with Iggy.

Will DeGeneres mistake be forgiven? Will Iggy be sent back to the hairdresser’s home, where it lived for two weeks? Or will this celebrity pet be forced to find new owners?

As we wait for the story to unfold, we look back on some notable celeb-pet relationships. (Reed Saxon / AP)

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Paris Hilton

The socialite owns a Yorkshire terrier and a Chihuahua named Tinkerbell, prominently seen in every season of her reality show, “The Simple Life.”

Tinkerbell was reported missing in 2004 after Hilton’s apartment was robbed, but she was found days later. A 2005 online poll by the New York Dog Magazine and the Hollywood Dog Magazine named Hilton worst celebrity dog owner.

But living as Paris’ pooch can’t be all bad. Tinkerbell “wrote” a memoir, “The Tinkerbell Hilton Diaries.” (Stephen Chernin / AP)

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Britney Spears

As Britneys child custody hearings unfold with the media on red alert, the pop star has had to endure a public debate over whether shes fit to be a parent. But is she even fit to be a pet owner?

PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk lashed out at Spears, accusing her of treating her dog London like an accessory. Gossip rags claimed the $3,000 Yorkie was an impulse buy. About a year earlier, an online poll named Spears worst celebrity dog owner.

We confess we have no firsthand knowledge of Spears way with dogs, but we can confirm that her former pet Bit-Bit wins our award for worst name for a celebrity dog ever. Bit-Bit? That might be cute if it were a pet robot. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

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George Clooney

The “Michael Clayton” star has long been one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors. A quick survey of his red carpet appearances over the years reveals a stunning -- and lengthy -- string of girlfriends. But perhaps Clooney’s longest relationship was with his Vietnamese black-bristled potbellied pig, Max. Clooney and Max lived together for 18 years, until Max’s death in 2006. (Scott Wintrow / Getty Images)

By the Associated Press

Oct. 17, 2007 12 AM PT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ellen DeGeneres’ doggy drama intensified Tuesday when the agency that took the talk show host’s adopted dog back said they were keeping it.

The dog adopted by DeGeneres and later given to her hairstylist’s family in violation of an animal rescue agency’s rules will not be going back to the family, a spokesman said, amid threats of violence against the agency.

DeGeneres made a tearful plea on her talk show that aired Tuesday for the owners of Mutts and Moms to give Iggy, a Brussels Griffon mix terrier, back to her hairstylist’s family.

The dog was removed from the hairstylist’s home Sunday. The owners of Mutts and Moms claimed that DeGeneres violated the adoption agreement by not informing them that she was giving the dog away.

Mutts and Moms owners Marina Batkis and Vanessa Chekroun were in possession of the dog and will not be giving it back, attorney Keith A. Fink told The Associated Press.

“She (Marina) is not going to give them the dog,” said Fink, who is not legally representing the owners but is authorized to speak on their behalf.

“She doesn’t think this is the type of family that should have the dog. She is adamant that she is not going to be bullied around by the Ellen DeGenereses of the world ... They are using their power, position and wealth to try to get what it is they want.”

DeGeneres’ attorney, Kevin Yorn, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

However, on her talk show taped Tuesday and airing Wednesday, a serious DeGeneres reiterated to her audience that “the dog needs to go to the family.”

It “just needs to be in a good home,” she continued, according to a transcript given to the AP. “All that you’re supposed to do is put a dog in a loving home.”

Fink said DeGeneres’ partner, actress Portia de Rossi, signed the agreement. DeGeneres originally said on her show that she (DeGeneres) had signed it.

DeGeneres’ publicist Kelly Bush confirmed De Rossi signed the agreement, although DeGeneres’ name also was listed.

“She (Ellen) was wrong by not reading the agreement,” Bush told the AP in a phone interview. “She thought she was doing a good thing. She’s notorious for rescuing animals and finding them good homes. She found the dog a wonderful, wonderful home.”

Fink asserted that DeGeneres and De Rossi breached the agreement.

“If you adopt a dog and you no longer want the dog, you can’t unilaterally decide who you want to give the dog to,” he said. “She’s trying to tell a story to make herself look good.”

As a result of the ensuing publicity, Fink said Batkis and Chekroun had received voice- and e-mail threats of death and arson, and their Paws Boutique store in Pasadena was besieged by media Tuesday, disrupting business. The women handle the volunteer, nonprofit Mutts and Moms rescue agency out of the store.

“It’s very upsetting to hear that someone is getting those kind of calls,” Bush said. “Ellen just wants the dog reunited with the family.”

DeGeneres had said her hairdresser’s daughters, ages 11 and 12, had bonded with Iggy and were heartbroken when the dog was taken away.

Fink said Moms and Mutts has a rule that families with children under 14 are not allowed to adopt small dogs.

“It’s for the protection of the dog,” he said.

DeGeneres said on her Tuesday show that she spent $3,000 having the dog neutered and trained to be with her cats, but Iggy did not mix well with the cats so she gave him away.

“She got rid of the dog not because it didn’t get along with the cats,” Fink said. “She didn’t like the dog.”

Not true, according to Bush.

“She loved the dog,” the publicist said.

Four-month-old Iggy was trained by Zack Grey at his UrbanTales pet store in Los Angeles.

“Ellen and Portia followed the process every single day,” he said. “It just didn’t work. It had nothing to do with not loving the puppy.”