Animal-Protection Groups Get High Profile in Celebrity Dispute

A public debate over the strict adoption regulations of some animal-rescue groups was ignited this week when the talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres wept on television after the nonprofit rescue group, Mutts & Moms, forcibly took back a puppy Ms. DeGeneres had given to her hairstylist’s family, reports The Los Angeles Times.

The group said that Ms. DeGeneres violated the terms of her adoption contract when she “re-homed” the puppy, a Brussels Griffin terrier mix named Iggy.

While public animal shelters in Los Angeles, as in most major cities, are overcrowded with animals and do not screen prospective adopters, many private rescue groups require long applications, home visits, and strict diet regimens in order to allow families or individuals to adopt pets.

Ed Boks, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services, said private rescue groups like Mutts & Moms do still help lower the city’s euthanasia rate, but that the DeGeneres case, “seems like an extraordinary situation. . . . I’m not sure why this group felt so strongly about taking the animal away from this home.”

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