Ellen Degeneres's Doggy Dilemma

So, there has been much discussion and controversy about yesterday's Ellen Degeneres Show. As many already know, Ellen adopted a dog; spent money to get it neutered and trained it. The dog did not fit in at her home well, so she gave it to her hairdresser. Two weeks after the dog was at the hairdresser's house, happy and healthy with the family, the shelter called Ellen and asked about the dog. Ellen told them the truth. Apparently, a contract was signed saying if she could not take care of the dog, the shelter would take it back. Now, the shelter has taken the dog away from a loving family and won't give it back.

Alright, this is what I understand of the story, and how I feel about it.

There have been some people saying Ellen should apologize and say it is her fault. NEWS FLASH! She did. That is what came out of her mouth on her show yesterday. She said "It's my fault!" and "I am so sorry!"

Some people are questioning why Ellen's hairdresser and her family don't just adopt the dog back from the adoption agency, Mutts and Moms. There is a problem with that. They cannot adopt the dog. According to news article on Yahoo.com, Mutts and Moms has a policy where families with children under the age of 14 cannot adopt small dogs. Now what's the problem? The hairdresser's daughters are 11 and 12 years old.

Now, of course, yes, Ellen should have read the contract. I understand why they do have these contracts too. Agencies don't want people to adopt animals and then give them, or resell them to others that could be harmful environments, like dog fighting. But do you think Ellen Degeneres would give a dog to a family she felt was unfit for a dog? No. She loves animals. She wanted to be a veterinarian when she was little. She has animals of her own. So, according to the contract, the agency had the right to take the dog away from the family. I understand that, for the dog's welfare, to make sure it wasn't in any danger. But since the dog was in a loving home, why couldn't the agency check and make sure it was a good and safe home for the dog, and draw up adoption papers with the family? Why couldn't something be worked out? The poor dog was in a nice, lovingly home and now it is stuck back in a shelter.

What I really don't understand is the shelter's policy about not allowing families to adopt small dogs if they have children under 14 years old. I cannot wrap my mind around this policy. I understand if the dog was abused by previous owners or has a history of not getting along with children, but that can apply to all dogs of all sizes. And just because someone is 14 years old or older, does not mean there will be a difference in the way the dog is treated because of a person's age. My childhood dog, we adopted when I was 7 years old, now my dog is not small, but nonetheless, she was never treated poorly, she has lived a happy and healthy life. Nothing bad happened to my dog because my sister and I were young; she was not abused or harmed in anyway. No matter how I think about this policy, I cannot make a whole lot of sense out of it, not near enough to not allow a family to adopt a small dog. I have a few friends who adopted small dogs with their families before they were 14 years old; their dogs were happy and healthy; they were fit families. As long as the family is fit for a dog and parents make sure their children know how to treat a dog properly and set good examples of how to treat the dog, I don't really see the problem. So, now because of this policy, Ellen's hairdresser and her family cannot adopt the dog they fell in love with. Yes, Ellen did not follow the rules; she admitted to that and apologized for it. Now, the contract has been followed in that the dog is back at the shelter because Ellen could not keep it, the family cannot adopt the dog because of the policy of not allowing families to adopt small dogs if they have children under 14.

Also, Ellen stated on her show today, that the microchip that was put in the dog when she adopted it was supposed to have her name in the information, so when the chip would be scanned her name would come up. She was told her name would be put on it, and it wasn't. So, she was not able to get the dog back and keep it in her home, because her name did not come up when the dog was scanned, which led to the dog having to go back to the shelter and not back home with Ellen.

Ellen Degeneres is not a bad person. She does so much good. She always acknowledges people who do heroic things who would necessarily not be recognized for the heroic actions. I think what Ellen does is fantastic. She would not have given the dog to a bad home. She did not buy the dog and try to resell it for more money. She was trying to do a good thing for someone else. That is all. She made a mistake. BIG DEAL! We ALL make mistakes.

So, yes it is Ellen's fault that she did not read the contract and that the dog was taken from the family because of that. She knows it is her fault. She has said it herself. She is sorry, she said that too. However, it is not her fault that her hairdresser's family cannot adopt the dog back from the shelter. The adoption agency is the one who has the policy that doesn't allow families with children under 14 to adopt small dogs.

I do think the family should get the dog back. They should be allowed to adopt it from the shelter. While Ellen may have been in the wrong not following the contract, I do agree with her that the family should be allowed to get the dog back. It's not easy to lose a loved pet, and now a family has to suffer that loss.

I do not think her crying was unnecessary either. She love animals and she is sad it had to go back to the shelter. She is upset she made a mistake and because of it a family has to give up a pet they fell in love with. I get it; I would be upset too.

While the shelter may be doing this in the dog's best interest, is it really in the dog's best interest to take him out of a loving home?

Because of a simple mistake, a dog has now been taken out of a loving home and put back in a shelter.

She was just trying to do a good thing. She did do a good thing. It is just ashame it turned out bad, because of a mistake. I hope that something can be worked out in this situation. Somehow, someway, I think something can be worked out. Now, I just hope it does.