The Mutts and Moms Saga Continues

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Here's Wednesday's installment:

Ellen DeGeneres' doggie dilemma took a nasty turn Wednesday, with the operator of the animal rescue organization that took the pooch away saying she has been deluged with threatening e-mails and phone calls.

The calls got so bad that Marina Batkis said she had to close her business and stay home Wednesday, a day after DeGeneres broadcast a tearful, televised plea for the dog to be returned to her hairdresser and the woman's daughters.

"My life is being threatened. This is horrible," a tearful Batkis said outside her home.

Batkis and Vanessa Chekroun co-own Mutts and Moms, the nonprofit dog-rescue organization that gave DeGeneres and her partner, actress Portia de Rossi, the dog.

"They have gotten thousands of e-mails," attorney Keith Fink told the television program "Inside Edition." "Most of them are hate e-mails threatening them with lynchings, bombings of their home."

One recording "Inside Edition" played had a male voice saying, "You Nazi, scum-sucking pigs. You're gonna pay dearly for stealing this dog from those little girls."

That's absolutely horrible.

It's terrible that some people have responded this way.

There's no excuse for such behavior.

Has the world gone completely crazy?

Mutts and Moms handled the Iggy situation incredibly poorly, but that doesn't give anyone license to make threats and cause Batkis to fear for her safety.

Thousands of well-reasoned e-mails would probably have been much more effective and possibly would have even helped the owners of Mutts and Moms to come to their senses.

..."This is so insane," a calmer DeGeneres said on her talk show Wednesday. "It's just the dog needs to go to the family."

Batkis has refused to back down.

"If Ellen wants to place dogs and decide what's a good home, then she should start her own rescue group," she told "Inside Edition." "But I'm the one doing this and I know what I'm doing."

It's clear that Batkis has no interest in resolving this amicably.

That's really unfortunate for everyone involved.

From Inside Edition:

Despite Ellen's tearful plea to return the dog to Ruby, INSIDE EDITION has learned that Iggy has already been placed with another family. Marina Baktis, the owner of Mutts and Moms, where Degeneres and De Rossi adopted Iggy, made the difficult decision. Baktis says she has unfairly become the villain in this doggy drama.

"I've been crying a lot too...if Ellen and Portia did what they were supposed to do, a little girl wouldn't be crying," Baktis tells INSIDE EDITION. According to Baktis, she specifically went over the "no right to transfer" clause in the adoption contract with de Rossi. "I said, 'Portia, this is really important. If ever you cant keep Iggy for any reason, you return him to me.'"

Baktis said she found out Iggy had been given away after checking in with de Rossi to see how the puppy was doing. She said she was deeply disturbed by an email she received from de Rossi saying quote, "We tried Iggy-adored him...he was just too much energy and time for us in our brand new home with so much going on in our lives."

"We're not saying that the other family couldn't have met the tests, but its not for Ellen to arrogate herself, merely because she swims in the Hollywood circles, and that she has her own television show," a lawyer for Baktis tells INSIDE EDITION.

I really don't think that this has anything to do with Ellen throwing her weight around, the pampered celebrity demanding to get her way.

It's about doing the right thing.

Batkis is bent on punishing Ellen.

Since Ellen's emotional appeal, Baktis says she has come under fire, besieged by harassing e-mails and voicemail...even death threats.

Some of the voicemails Baktis has received include messages like this one: "I hope you go out of business. I hope you lose everything you have, and I'm sure the rest of this country feels that way." Another angry caller told Baktis she would pay dearly for stealing Iggy from the little girls. Baktis's inbox contains some e-mails with some similarly scathing remarks. In one email, an angry Degeneres fan calls Baktis and her staff, "psycho, power tripping, have no life, losers."

Baktis tells INSIDE EDITION she is very afraid and has already gone to the police because of the threats she's received over this adoption.

Today, a much calmer Degeneres began her show once again appealing for Iggy's return. But Baktis refuses, saying she is doing her job in acting in the best interest of the dog.

Again, such threats are inexcusable.

I'm thinking that Baktis can't be too afraid or she could have ended this. She could have checked out the family, determined that the home is fit, and then returned Iggy to where he spent the past two weeks.

Now she says that Iggy has already been placed with another family.

Frankly, I'm surprised that family chose to take the puppy. I wouldn't want to get in the middle of this.

It's sad that Batkis took a little dog and created this monstrous mess.

There are only losers in this case.
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Who cares about Ellen's pet?

If a cyber-bulging e-mail inbox is an indication, A LOT of people care.

Pete directed me to a post on P2P.net for the technology angle on the story.

Mutts and Moms is the pet rescue group in the Ellen DeGeneres pet adoption farce, but its site on Petfinder.org is offline.

“Mutts and Mom has chosen to temporarily inactivate their website on Petfinder.com because their email inbox and voice mail are overwhelmed,” says a post.

Statement from Petfinder:

Mutts and Mom has chosen to temporarily inactivate their website on Petfinder.com because their email inbox and voice mail are overwhelmed. Petfinder has 11,000 shelters and rescue groups posting over 260,000 pets that need homes. We do not dictate the adoption policies of our members. We do work with them to educate their volunteers and hope to professionalize the industry as a whole, providing a positive experience for adopters. Petfinder advocates for all parties: the pets, the adopters, and the shelter and rescue group workers and volunteers.

Read more.

Should people care about this story?

That's a value judgment.

The reality is many people do care. They care deeply about pets.

Some may think that their concern about animals is misguided. They believe that they should care more about starving children or the polar ice caps or World War III or whatever.

Caring about pets doesn't mean people don't care about other issues.

I think the Iggy story has touched a nerve because pet owners can understand how painful it is to lose a beloved pet.

Advocates for pet adoption and those involved in pet rescue care about the story because they fear the Mutts and Moms bad PR could impact their efforts.

Should people care?

Is the Ellen DeGeneres - Mutts and Moms - Iggy story important?

In some people's worlds, yes. Very.
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If Ellen has anything to say about it, the saga is ending.

LOS ANGELES -- Ellen DeGeneres' talk show was put on hold for a day because of her emotionally wrenching dog-adoption drama. "It's been a long week and a tough week and we decided to take a long weekend and be back on Tuesday," said Laura Mandel, a spokeswoman for Telepictures Productions, which produces "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

DeGeneres was scheduled Thursday to tape shows to air Friday and Monday. Instead, the tapings were canceled and reruns featuring Jessica Alba and Queen Latifah will air on those days. A new show is planned Tuesday.

...At a taping of the show Wednesday, DeGeneres told the audience she wouldn't talk about the matter again unless Iggy was returned to her hairdresser.