A different side of Ellen

Talk show host and normally happy person Ellen DeGeneres made headlines Tuesday after her daytime show turned into a sobfest.

Apparently Ellen and her partner Portia de Rossi adopted a puppy, a Brussels Griffon mix named Iggy, from a shelter last month. But the dog was too rambunctious and didn't get along with their other pets, so DeGeneres gave it to her hairdresser's family. Unfortunately, DeGeneres wasn't aware she had signed a contract saying she would return the dog to the shelter if she couldn't take care of it. Long story short, the pet adoption agency came and seized the dog from its new owners.

I don't typically have a lot of sympathy for people who adopt pets without knowing what they're getting themselves into. My parents own two rescue dogs and the agency they adopted from gets dozens of dogs from families who are too lazy to take care of them, or whose kids aren't interested in the dogs after they've outgrown their puppy cuteness. But Ellen's story seems genuine and her plea to get the dog back is fairly heartbreaking. She gave the shelter free (if bad) publicity on her show; I wonder if they'll respond to her request in return?

Random: There's a great picture in this week's Entertainment Weekly of de Rossi wearing an old, ratty Iggy Pop shirt. Wonder if she named the dog?

Update: A much cheerier DeGeneres reiterated her plea Wednesday, but apparently shelter officials still aren't buying it. Maybe the death threats they've gotten from angry housewives have something to do with that.

Also, TMZ.com has eye-popping video footage from Sunday night, when de Rossi and DeGeneres rushed over to the house after the family had a standoff with the shelter folks.

Questions: Who called TMZ? How many times does Ellen cite her monetary contributions to shelters? And who watches this stuff?!? (Answers: dunno, too many, me.)