DeGeneres, Iggy, Mutts & Moms saga rolls on
p2pnet news | TV:- Ellen DeGeneres’ doggy ordeal forced her to cancel her show, it would seem.
Tapings for today and Monday were halted and re-runs featuring Jessica Alba and Queen Latifah will instead air on those days, says Associated Press.
DeGeneres broke down in front of her audience on Tuesday because a private rescue group was taking back Iggy, a tiny terrier puppy she’d adopted and then passed on to the family of her hairstylist.
Today, “in the span of just three days, the DeGeneres vs. Mutts & Moms dust-up – call it “Iggygate” – had escalated into a morass of talk show tears and death threats, crying pre-teen girls (the hairdresser’s daughters) and bouts of ‘heart palpitations’ (suffered by Mutts & Moms co-owner Marina Baktis after receiving death threats over her perceived dog-napping),” says the Los Angeles Times.
It also brought a flood of anger, some directed at DeGeneres and some aimed at Batkis.
She had to close her business and stay home Wednesday, and the site was still offline today.
“This is shamefull!” – posted John in Texas in a p2pnet Reader’s Write, going on:
It’s not like the dog wasn’t in a loving home .. you have to make some exceptions to benefit both the animal and the rules. Those poor kids that have to go through this over some wack jobs dead set intent to be ‘RIGHT’ instead of doing what is right.”
Said huh:
This is ridiculous. It’s a dog. People don’t care this much about children, for crying out loud.
“I agree that people do not care this much about children,” posted Christina, going on:
If the foster care system worked as well as this crazy lady from Mutts & Moms the world would be a better place. I normally don’t agree with celebrities flexing their fame and money to get what they want, but I feel like Ellen does so much good for people she is not doing this to just get her way. If you notice, she constantly puts people on her show who are trying to acheive something and tries to help them. In this case, she made a mistake that affected other people so now she is just trying to fix it. This is getting blown way out of proportion.
She added, “Oops, sorry, I was not implying that I feel like Iggy is ‘just a dog’. I think it is sad that he is being bounced around now.”
‘Another John in Texas states:
The actions of an inconsiderate and over-reaching control freak is what this boils down to.
Yes, Ellen broke the contract, and yes there are good reasons for the terms in that contract, but in this case what interest (aside from ego) was served by being so heavy handed? Not that of the family in question, and certainly not that of the adoption agency, who must have their hands full finding suitable homes. What would it have cost them to act like decent human beings and have a look at the family as a potential home?
Nothing. Instead, their heavy-handed, repo-man tactics have resulted in a storm of bad publicity and probably set back the effectiveness of their operation, and oh yeah, broken the heart of a little girl. Nice work.
Says an anonymous Reader’s Write:
I find that I absolutely must speak out on behalf of Marina Baktis from Mutts and Moms in Pasadena given the shaft she is presently getting from the press as a result of Ellen Degeneres ‘Faux Paw’.
I am disgusted by the hate mail and posts I am reading everywhere that are attacking this woman, Marina Baktis of Mutts & Moms.org, for doing the right and responsible thing.
Marina Baktis is not cruel nor heartless, but instead one of the most responsible dog adoption agency owners I have ever dealt with. And, I have dealt with many- including shelters, humane societies and other dog adoption agencies.
It adds:
I personally adopted my fabulous dog from Marina Baktis last May and I was so impressed by her deep concern and need to know all details before releasing the dog to me. She continued to e-mail me and stay in touch after the adoption to make sure Indie was (and is) happy.
Unfortunately, a few tears from Ellen and pics of sad kids’ faces have turned the public against one of the kindest, most giving and responsible dog lovers in this country. After all, Marina devotes her life to finding homes for dogs. And good homes at that!
Says Karen today:
It’s really a shame the the rescue group didn’t take the opportunity to return the dog & get a lot of GOOD publicity about the need for more loving families to adopt rescue animals. They have forgotten in their anger about the many still homeless animals. They now pretty much have mud on their face. Instead of GOOD publicity they have gotten a lot of BAD publicity. What have they gained??? A whole bunch of steps backward!!! Now peopole won’t want to adopt from a rescue group because of this. Mutts & Moms … you should be ashamed at the damage that you have done to the rescue effort!!!!!!!
Stay tuned.
Also See:
doggy ordeal – DeGeneres Mutts & Moms site ‘overwhelmed’, October 18, 2007
Associated Press – DeGeneres Cancels Tapings After Dog Flap, October 19, 2007
Los Angeles Times – Iggygate: So much more than just a dog’s tale, October 19, 2007
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October 19th, 2007 at 8:22 am
This much controversey over a single dog is insane. Childrern all over the world are dying by the thousands every day.
October 20th, 2007 at 8:56 am
People who work with dogs are often very protective of them, perhaps excessively so. They have seen dogs mistreated in many ways and are determined to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Tell one of these dog-lovers that its “just a dog” and you are asking for trouble. Just because children, senior citizens, gays, illegal aliens etc are mistreated is not a valid reason to ignore somebody who is beating up a dog. And a dog is not something you trade off or pass on like a used car. A dog is alive and, in the opinion of dog lovers, conscious and aware of whats happening to it. You wouldn’t expect to adopt a child and give it to somebody else, regardless how loving they might be. People who rescue dogs usually feel the same way about their charges. Sadly, the woman who was finding homes for unwanted dogs will probably have her organisation and maybe her life destroyed over this situation. And the real losers will be her dogs. C,mon Helen: you are rich, famous and have been the victim of unfeeling people yourself. Even if you are sore at the dog lady, think about the dogs welfare.
October 21st, 2007 at 10:40 am
If Ellen had lived up to the agreement she had with Mutts & Moms, none of this mess would have occurred. She has caused this organization to be harassed because a big named, rich woman did not get her way. Kudos to Marina for standing up to Ellen.
October 21st, 2007 at 5:41 pm
I think people should contact Marina Batkis directly. According to the information on her web site registrations, she can be reached at:
Name:Marina Baktis
Organization:Mutts and Moms
Street1:4610 Cerrillos Drive
City:Woodland Hills
State/Province:CA
Postal Code:91364
Country:US
Phone: +1.8189328914
Email:pawboutique@yahoo.com
Name:Marina Baktis
Organization: paw boutique
Street1: 578 MC Wilton Place
City: Altadena
State: CA
Postal Code: 91001
Country: US
Phone: 6267977662
Email: mbaktis@hotmail.com
June 30th, 2008 at 8:30 am
dkcaing