Of Celebrities and Dogs

A lot of people have commented on sad story of Ellen DeGeneres and Iggy the dog. The basic gist of the story is that Ellen's partner adopted a dog from a rescue and didn't read the contract that the rescue had her sign. One of the tenants* of the contract is that if you decide that you can not give the dog to anyone else should you decide that you can not keep the dog.

Under the Mutts and Moms contract agreement (section 3H discusses the “NO RIGHT TO TRANSFER”), which Access obtained a copy of, anyone accepting a dog agrees to “NOT give or sell ADOPTEE to another person, company, organization, medical research, pound or animal shelter,” or, “If ADOPTER fails to abide by the terms of this clause, ADOPTER will pay all costs, including any legal fees incurred, required to secure the return of ADOPTEE to RESCUE and will, in addition, be required to pay liquidated damages in the amount of $500.”

Lucky, the worlds best border collie, is a rescue dog. Jack, the wild and crazy puppy, came to us from a breeder. When we purchased both dogs, we had to sign similar contracts. I understand why they do this. Unscrupulous people would go to shelters and rescues, adopt pets and then turn around and sell them to research labs and dog fighting rings. Not that we would ever do something like that, but it is to protect the dog and it is a very common practice

What bothers me is how people are handling this. The owner of the rescue agency has received numerous threatening messages...including one from DeGeneres' publicist.

A publicist for DeGeneres, Kelly Bush, also allegedly took matters a step further by leaving what seemed like a threatening message for Mutts and Moms. “We’re filing a legal case against you. We’re going to be contacting the media. This is not going to be good for your store or your organization,” Bush said on the tape, which was first played by “Good Morning America.”

In another interview, DeGeneres accused the agency of "selectively" enforcing their rules all the while asking that they do so in her favor when, on her program today, she pleaded that her hairstylist be given the dog because the hairstylists children had already bonded on the dog.

This really is one of those sad no win situations. Ellen violated a contract, granted she did not know what was in the contract, but ignorance of the law is no excuse. Mutts and Moms, certainly could have handled it better, but then again, we don't know what (if any) action they took prior to siezing the dog from the "new family". The real losers are the kids. Kids and dogs are a timeless combination. Dogs are good for kids and vice versa.

Perhaps the ladies that run Mutts and Moms can act like moms and give the kids a chance. I understand that not all dogs are kid friendly and not all kids are dog friendly, but if you really did care about the well being of the dog and the adoptive family the extra work is worth it. Just ask Lucky and Jack.

* - Thanks to reader and commenter J.Ewing for correcting my horrible spelling!

Scholars of History - Hollywood version

Poor Sally Field. In a bleeped out diatribe at the Emmy's Ms. Field blurted out (in her acceptance speech) that if mothers ran the world there "would be no more g*dd*mned wars". Obviously, Ms. Field did not pay attention to her history classes - ancient or modern.First we have Queen Boudica

Boudica (or Boadicea) was the wife of Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, a
British tribe, at a time when Britain was a Roman province. When Prasutagus died
he willed half of his kingdom to the Roman empire and half to Boudica and their
two daughters, Camorra and Tasca1 or, according to legend, Voada and Voadicia2.
British law allowed royal inheritance to be passed to daughters in the absence
of male heir, but Roman law did not. The Roman administrator ignored the will
and proceded to take over the entire kingdom. Roman historian Tacitus wrote,
"Kingdom and household alike were plundered like prizes of war... for a start,
his widow Boudica was flogged and their daughters raped. The chieftains of the
Iceni were deprived of their family estates as if the whole country had been
handed over to the Romans. The king's own relatives were treated as slaves."

Enraged Boudica joined Iceni forces with another tribe, the Trinobantes, and together they fought back. They attacked and conquered the Roman colony Camulodunum (now Colchester) and burned the temple dedicated to Claudius, the Roman emperor who completed the conquest of Britain. The Romans retaliated against the insurgents by sending a whole division of soldiers, but they were defeated. The insurgents then marched on London, which they sacked, and killed its Roman population, as well as their sympathizers. They did the same at Verulamium (now St. Albans) and other settlements.

Then we have Queens Candace, Kahina and Hatshepsut, all African warrior queens who ruthlessly fought to keep and enlarge their countries. We have the Trung Sisters who are acknowledged to be the "Founding Mothers" of Viet Nam. Moving forward a few hundred years, we come to Joan....Saint Joan of Arc who was instrumental in defending her beloved France from the English invaders in the Hundred Years War. In modern history we have Golda Meir, the fierce Israeli premier who did whatever it took to grow her fledgling nation, Indira Gandhi who helped defend India against China when she was premier and Margaret Thatcher who led the British in the war to reclaim the Falkland Islands. Then there is Miriam Farahat.

Consider Miriam Farahat, a Palestinian mother who has raised three sons to be
homicide bombers for Hamas. Known throughout Gaza as Um Nidal, or “the
mother of the struggle,” Farahat is featured in a Hamas recruitment video
telling one 17-year-old son to attack Israelis and telling him not to return.
And Farahat -- who is now an elected member of the Hamas parliament -- says she
is willing to sacrifice all her 10 sons to the war against Israel because
“Israelis are not civilians and there are no prohibitions on killing them.”

I think that Patricia Heaton said it best when she said (H/T Michelle Malkin)

“I’ve actually become a more violent person since I became a mother, If
someone came between me and my kids, they’d be dead meat. So I didn’t agree with that particular statement.”

I know that I have started fighting for what I believe in a whole lot more since the Junior Logician came along. It is not for me, but his future that I fight and will continue to fight.

A couple of quick thoughts

Sorry for the sporadic posting. Life has been insane lately and it appears that it will not slow down anytime soon.

I had to get these two stories out just because I found them to be so interesting. The first has to do with the lefts reaction to the increase in gas prices - I know you will be shocked to know that they are happy and wish that the price would go even higher.

"The $3 gas prices posted at the station he passes on the way to work give Kevin Ishaug 20 miles to gloat over how much he saves commuting by bike."

Shark-Bait over at Anti-Strib pretty well eviscerated this. You should go read it.

The second still has me scratching my head.

"R. Kelly compares himself to Muhammad Ali, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley -- and even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- in a magazine interview that hits the street just in time for the release of his new album this month.
Kelly, the Chicago native who rose from street singer to star before facing criminal charges of having sex with an underage girl, made the comments in the spring/summer issue of Hip-Hop Soul magazine. "

Now I can see Ali, I can see Gaye, I can even see the Marley comparison but Dr. King????? Of course the defense is almost as lame as the original comparison.

"Kelly's publicist, Regina Daniels, said the interview and photo shoot took place in Chicago about a month ago.
"He doesn't think he's Martin Luther King. He's comparing the fact that he is a prolific songwriter of his time; now it's turned into something else," Daniels said. "Whatever Rob said, any way they can stick it to him. If he breathes it's a problem."

No Regina, Dr. King was not a "prolific songwriter". Dr. King was a a man who craved freedom and equality for all. Somone who objectifies women and rapes little girls does not even come close to being in the same rarefied strata as Dr. King.