The dogfight over Ellen DeGeneres’s former dog Iggy continued yesterday as Mutts and Moms co-founder Marina Batkis filed a report with Pasadena, Calif., police about receiving death threats.
“My life is being threatened; this is horrible. I rescue dogs. I can’t believe this,” Baktis told “Access Hollywood.”
The fur flap started Sunday when Mutts and Moms took back DeGeneres’s terrier puppy from the home of her hairstylist and her two young daughters because the move violated the Sept. 20 adoption agreement that said DeGeneres couldn’t give away the dog. Mutts and Moms policy doesn’t allow small dogs to be placed in homes with children younger than 14.
DeGeneres told E! News that the Pasadena, Calif.-based rescue group’s stand seems to be “about punishing me, and that’s fine,” adding, “Iggy’s health and safety has always been No. 1.”
Ed Sayres, president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, issued a statement Wednesday praising DeGeneres’s actions “in trying to provide loving homes for animals in need,” but he added, “We also understand the point of view of Mutts and Moms,” which, like many groups, sets such rules to provide “a safety net for the animals.”
In this case, Sayres said, he would “encourage Mutts and Moms to revisit their approach to this situation.”
DeGeneres urged for calm on Thursday’s show. “It has gotten out of hand,” she said. “The people who have or had Iggy are receiving death threats and that is not OK. I know people are passionate about this, but you don’t resort to violence. Anyone out there, please don’t do that.
“I think this is the last time I’m talking about this,” she continued. “Unless I’m lucky enough to say one day to you, ‘Iggy has returned.’ As of today, as I’m talking to you, Iggy has not been returned. And, in fact, I think we were told [he] was given to another home. Unfortunately, Ruby, the little girl, doesn’t want another dog. She wants Iggy. It’s not a toy that’s broken that you can replace. It’s a dog.”