http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21336607/

Now I know there will be some of u that side on the rescues side, but I think its assinine to just go and take a dog out of some ones house. I would have liked to seen them try doing that around here, some one would have wound up beat or shot. And whats with this whole u can adopt a dog but if u have kids under this age we wont adopt to you for the dogs safety. wtf.

There are a lot of places that pull that crap and I don't see how it is legal... animals are still considered property - and I don't see how you can stipulate what someone does with property you sell or give to them once you've done the giving.

Having worked with a rescue group, they are very strict and clear about what the rules are. My wife and I know that if our beagle runs away and is picked up by someone, then we're not going to get her back. She's going to be placed in another home where the owner will be responsible to watch her and make sure she doesn't get away.

It's because they care about the dogs that they have these rules. BREW has been very clear from the get go what the rules are, and I'm sure that the rescue group that Ellen got her dog from was just as clear. There's an entire process you have to go through to get a dog from a rescue group. They interview you. They inspect your house. They do visits. On top of that, they have FOSTER CARE for these dogs. It's not like Ellen's dog is now going back to some cage in a pet store. This dog is going to a home where it's cared for by a person that cares about dogs, and will care for it while a proper home is sought for it.

Also, this group has very clear rules about how old the household has to be before getting one of these dogs. There are reasons for that. It's not some arbitrary number they picked out of the air.

So now Ellen is using her talk show to harass these people because she didn't get her way. She's another phony who thinks that because she always gets what she wants, then she's never wrong.

Sorry Ellen. You're wrong. You knew the rules and broke them, and didn't think you'd get caught, or thought they'd let you slide since you're a celebrity. Sorry, not this time.

Now call off your Hausfrau army.

I volunteered at a county humane society and they have similar rules. The reasoning behind them is to prevent a person who can meet the adoption qualifications from obtaining animals then giving or selling them to others for purposes like dogfighting, torture, medical testing, breeding, and so on. It's also to make sure that if the dog doesn't work out it doesn't end up being put down in a shelter somewhere. Those outcomes defeat the purpose of rescuing the dog to begin with.

Ellen, like many Hollywood types, needs some perspective. She should try dealing with some of the soul-crushing problems real people have to deal with, like single moms making ends meet or families whose children who are addicted to drugs or commit suicide, or a spouse killed in a car accident. Those people have something to cry about.

Sorry Chia...

Wilmac and Bluesky are correct regarding this issue.

The rules are in place to protect the animals. The people who take the animals sign a contract agreeing to the rules.

Just because Ellen is a celebrity doesn't absolve her from any rules or anything she or her partner had signed.

If Ellen really wanted that dog for a friend or employee, she could have put a hold on the dog at the shelter. Then brought her friends to the shelter to complete whatever proper rules and paperwork that were in place.

Ellen didn't do that. What makes it worse, she took the issue to her show and unfairly portrayed the situation.

Shame on Ellen.

Well thats why I will never adopt from a rescue group. I'd like to know what makes them experts in human/dog realtions. The humane society is much easier to get a dog through and those dogs are in more need of getting out of jail then rescue dogs who live in foster homes.

I adopted a dog from a rescue lady and I had to fill out an application to even be considered. Where I live and who with, what other dogs are there, do I have a yard, am I a lazy bum, etc. I don't think you're allowed to breed with them and you have to promise to get them fixed if they aren't already. I don't know which is better between a shelter or a rescue group, but this lady had like 10 adult dogs and 2 litters of puppies. I figured she could do with one less dog.

So you'd rather rescue from a group that has absoutely NO clue about the dog (and let's face it, while the parent organization may understand animals, most of the idiots working there do not). Even though private rescue groups know a HECK of a lot more. I got my beagle from the same group Wilmac got his - BREW. Beagle Rescue Education and Welfare. They have years of experience with the breed. They know the breed better than most anyone. They know what is good for the breed, and they spend time with each individual dog (they have a network of foster homes), as opposed to throwing them into a cage like the city kennels.

Ever heard of Home Owners Associations?

Something else that needs to be regulated or outlawed

Yes. Both of my animals came from the SPCA. My dog is a much better dog then my moms dog that she got from a private breeder. My cat is one of the friendliest I have ever owned. I would adopt again from the SPCA. These rescue groups need to be regulated more. Again what makes them think that a dog shouldnt be placed in a home with children under 14. Thats bullshit. Do they think ever kid is a dog abuser or not responsible enough to take care of a dog. You knwo its one thing if it s a known fact that the dog dosent like children, but you cant just say a puppy wont get a long with them

Hey, sign a contract, follow it. Not too hard to figure out. If you can't follow the rules of adoption, then don't get your dog from that particular place.

I have 1 Great Dane from a rescue. I had to follow their rules to a "T", until the lady running the place went dilusional, tried to extort $2,000 from me, and I threatened legal action...less than a year later the agency no longer existed, and my contract is now null and void. But the rules weren't all that hard to follow, and honestly, I'm still doing everything except sending her a copy of annual shot records, since there's no agency to send them to anymore.

Only if they're unreasonable. I've lived with good ones and bad ones, and a good one can work well to keep a neighborhood from sliding downhill.

Not to hijack this thread, but saw something disturbing on TV the other day.

The amount of money people for their pets medical care. It wasn't the thousands that people spend on their dog for cancer treatments and stuff that bothered me (it's their money), but one lady who has spent thousands on different pills (of the psychiatry kind) for her dog, cause it was aggresive and biting her. What the fuck?

People need to understand that some animals do not, WILL NOT, like humans. They just won't. And to spend a single dollar, much less thousands to break a dog's spirit, disgusts me. It should be illegal.

"You must make them understand that you are the pack leader."

Cesar's got it together. His techniques make perfect sense and the man gets results.

What's amazing is how immediate his results are. Sure, it could be editing trickery, but you can almost see the transormation just in 10 minutes of working with the dog.

Agreed. Even if it's editing, it's not longer than a few hours 'cause you can tell by the light and the clothes people are wearing. When my wife first ran across the show, she suggested we watch and I was like, "OK, right, dog whisperer. Whatever, this has to be BS." Well, I'm a believer now.

I actually tried his techniques last weekend on my sister-in-law's dog. Brady is a full-bred Lab and very smart, but very excitable, jumping up on people, running around, and so on. In about 15 minutes she was sitting quietly and my sis-in-law is like, "What did you do to her?" I said, "Watch the Dog Whisperer and you'll see."

Even when we'd play fetch, where she'd really go ballistic before, I got her to sit and not react at all until I actually threw the ball. She had trouble calming down when she'd bring the ball back but we were making progress on that and in an hour or two she'd have been squared away but I didn't have that much time.

All the credit goes to Cesar. Guy knows his stuff.

ETA: I think a lot of parents could learn from Cesar too.

The Humane society place in South Phoenix is a pleasure to deal with. 2 of our cats came from there and the 3rd came from the Mesa pound. All experiences were good and I'm glad these agencies exist, despite underfunding.

The Humane society takes care of the spaying/neutering and still adopts out cats at under $70.

You're confusing a private breeder with a rescue group. They are not the same thing.

A lot of the private rescue groups specialize in a single breed. They know that breed better than anyone. A lot of those dogs were removed from the SPCA kennels. They take the time to have the pets properly socialized - the SPCA kennels do NOT.

I'm not saying you should avoid the SPCA. If anything, those pets are in much worse shape - because there are very few public shelters that are no-kill shelters. But I know what I'm getting from a private rescue group. I can't say the same for the SPCA.

The Humane Society is much better to deal with than some of the rescue places. Both my dogs are from the Humane Society, and the adoption process was very smooth and simple.

Two of my friends have had bad experiences trying to adopt dogs from rescue organizations. Both were current dog owners, and both were turned down to by rescue agencies.

Some of these groups are "adoption nazis". They set some very unrealistic rules that potential adoptees have to follow. It doesn't make sense to be completely overprotective of the dog. If the dog will have a loving home, it should be allowed to be adopted.

My parents were looking to adopt/rescue a cat a few years ago. All of the places they tried required your SSN and that you sign an agreement that the agency could drop by at any time to check on the condition/status of the animal.

Needless to say, they told each place to keep their freakin' cat.

Yes they are strict. But the Human Society (and the SPCA shelters) would have no problem placing a greyhound with a person in an apartment. I don't care how "loving" of a home you have - an apartment is NOT where a greyhound should be.

And about the age of kids - it's not necessarily for the dog's benefit. Even if a dog HAS been socialized properly, there's no telling how it may react to a five year old yanking on it's tail. You may find yourself with a trip to the hospital.

Have you ever watched Animal Precinct (or whatever it's called)? Watch that and you might understand why people are very careful about where they place animals.