Ellen DeGeneres broke down while revealing why she gave away her rescue dog: "If I can’t keep..."
Over the years, Ellen DeGeneres has left no stone unturned to entertain her fans. However, the veteran talk show host has also experienced some emotional moments throughout her talk show, which ran for 19 seasons from 2003 to 2022. During an October 2007 episode of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', DeGeneres got very emotional while narrating a tale about how an animal rescue group took back a dog named Iggy that she had adopted. Back in the day, DeGeneres gave the dog to another family; however, her move was not appreciated by the organization. “I guess I signed a piece of paper that says if I can’t keep Iggy, it goes back to the rescue organization, which is not someone’s home, which is not a family. I thought I did a good thing. I tried to find a loving home for the dog because I couldn’t keep it," DeGeneres said, according to The Things.
While sobbing, DeGeneres further elaborated, “Because I did it wrong, those people went and took that dog out of their home and took it away from those kids. I feel totally responsible for it, and I’m so sorry. I’m begging them to give that dog back to that family. It’s not their fault. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have given the dog away. Just please give the dog back to those little girls.” Later on, down the lane, Marina Batkis, the owner of the organization named Mutts and Moms issued a statement on the matter. "If Ellen wants to start her own rescue group, then she can decide where the dogs go. Who is she to say who is a good home and whose not? And who is she to say where I should place my animals and how I should do this? I don't tell her how to run her show," Batkis shared.
This was not the only time DeGeneres cried on her talk show. DeGeneres also broke down in tears while talking about her crew who stood strong by her side all these years during the final episode of her show which aired on May 22, 2025. "You surrounded me with so much love and so much support. You nurtured me and you found a way to make me shine brighter than I could do it by myself. You helped me be my best. I love you more than I can possibly say," DeGeneres said.
The 67-year-old comedian further added, "To all of you who have watched me and supported me, thank you so much for this platform. And I hope that what I've been able to do in the last 19 years has made you happy and that I was able to take a little bit of pain away from a bad day or anything you're going through. And I hope I've been able to inspire you to make other people happy and to do good in the world, to feel like you have a purpose."
Interestingly, DeGeneres herself decided to shut down the daytime talk show. While having a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, DeGeneres candidly spoke about her talk show and revealed the reason behind ending her show after nearly two decades. “When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged — and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore," DeGeneres told the media outlet.
DeGeneres' show came to an end in 2022. Before this, DeGeneres was accused of fostering a toxic workplace environment on her show in July 2020. Later on, down the lane, DeGeneres addressed the whole matter and stated that her past controversy didn't influence her decision to pull the plug on her show. As per BBC, DeGeneres clarified, “If I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn’t have come back this season."
