Celebrity pets: Mistreated or made in the shade?
By Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres pledged allegiance to her cats and lost her dog Iggy on a technicality, or so she told her TV audience on Oct. 15.
DeGeneres said she gave the dog to her hairdresser after it didnÂ’t mix well with her cats, a no-no in the eyes of the rescue agency from which DeGeneres got the pup.
“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,†she said in a show transcript provided to the Associated Press.
DeGeneres is pleading for the dog to be returned to her hairdresser, who she writes in an Oct. 16 Internet post has two young girls already in love with Iggy.
Will DeGeneres’ mistake be forgiven? Will Iggy be sent back to the hairdresser’s home, where it lived for two weeks? Or will this celebrity pet be forced to find new owners?
As we wait for the story to unfold, we look back on some notable celeb-pet relationships. (Reed Saxon / AP)
Paris Hilton
The socialite owns a Yorkshire terrier and a Chihuahua named Tinkerbell, prominently seen in every season of her reality show, “The Simple Life.â€
Tinkerbell was reported missing in 2004 after Hilton’s apartment was robbed, but she was found days later. A 2005 online poll by the New York Dog Magazine and the Hollywood Dog Magazine named Hilton worst celebrity dog owner.
But living as Paris’ pooch can’t be all bad. Tinkerbell “wrote†a memoir, “The Tinkerbell Hilton Diaries.†(Stephen Chernin / AP)
Britney Spears
As BritneyÂ’s child custody hearings unfold with the media on red alert, the pop star has had to endure a public debate over whether sheÂ’s fit to be a parent. But is she even fit to be a pet owner?
PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk lashed out at Spears, accusing her of treating her dog London “like an accessory.” Gossip rags claimed the $3,000 Yorkie was an impulse buy. About a year earlier, an online poll named Spears worst celebrity dog owner.
We confess we have no firsthand knowledge of SpearsÂ’ way with dogs, but we can confirm that her former pet Bit-Bit wins our award for worst name for a celebrity dog ever. Bit-Bit? That might be cute if it were a pet robot. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
George Clooney
The “Michael Clayton†star has long been one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors. A quick survey of his red carpet appearances over the years reveals a stunning -- and lengthy -- string of girlfriends. But perhaps Clooney’s longest relationship was with his Vietnamese black-bristled potbellied pig, Max. Clooney and Max lived together for 18 years, until Max’s death in 2006. (Scott Wintrow / Getty Images)
