Ellen DeGeneres's
doggy drama intensified Tuesday after her tearful plea
on her talk show led to death threats against the rescue
group that took back her adopted dog because
she violated the contract, according to a
spokesman for the agency's owners.
DeGeneres
explained on her show that the Brussels Griffon terrier mix
didn't get along with her cats, so she gave it to her
hairstylist's family. The owners of the rescue group,
Mutts and Moms, claimed that DeGeneres violated the
adoption agreement by not informing them she was
giving the dog away and removed Iggy from the hairstylist's
home Sunday.
As a result of
the publicity, Marina Batkis and Vanessa Chekroun received
voice-mail and e-mail threats of death and arson and were
besieged by the media, disrupting business at their
Paws Boutique store in Pasadena, Calif., where they
handle the volunteer nonprofit rescue agency, attorney
Keith A. Fink said.
Batkis rejected
DeGeneres's plea to give the dog back to her
hairstylist's family.
''She [Batkis]
doesn't think this is the type of family that should have
the dog,'' said Fink, who is not legally representing the
owners but is authorized to speak for them. ''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's
attorney, Kevin Yorn, did not immediately return a message
seeking comment.
''It's very
upsetting to hear that someone is getting those kinds of
calls,'' DeGeneres's publicist, Kelly Bush, said. ''Ellen
just wants the dog reunited with the family.''
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 Associated Press. ''All that you're
supposed to do is put a dog in a loving home.''
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. (AP)