"It's not Ellen's fault.  She just wanted to give it to a good home.  That's what she did." - 12-year-old Ruby.

Airdate: Wednesday, October 17^th, 2007

                  Check local listings for times

New York, NY - October 17, 2007 -Inside Edition was the first to interview Ellen DeGeneres's hairdresser Cheryl and her 12-year-old daughter Ruby, about the recent drama surrounding the dog DeGeneres adopted from Mutts and Moms.

Following are excerpted quotes from this exclusive interview scheduled to broadcast on today's INSIDE EDITION.  Credit must be given to INSIDE EDITION.

DeGeneres had a tearful breakdown on her show on Tuesday while explaining she had given the dog she originally adopted for herself from an animal rescues to her hairdresser after the puppy didn't get along with her cats.  Upon hearing the news of the new owners, the pet rescue agency Mutts and Moms reclaimed the dog, leaving DeGeneres's hairdresser and her family distraught.

Ruby tells INSIDE EDITION her dog Buddy got along great with Iggy Pup, the dog DeGeneres gave her family.

Ruby: "I was very happy because I had another dog and they played and it was good.  They ran around the house. He [Iggy Pup] was so cute.  I miss him now...It was like two brothers, they would play all the time."

Ruby says she came home from a sleepover on Sunday to find out Marina Baktis, the owner of Mutts and Moms, was coming to the house about Iggy Pup.

Ruby: "She [Baktis] saw Buddy and Iggy playing right in front of her...She grabs Iggy and goes,‘We can take the dog.'... She didn't even look at me."

Ruby tells INSIDE EITION she was a wreck on Sunday.

Ruby: "I was upset and I was scared because I knew they were going to take him and I love Iggy...Iggy was a part of my family, even after two weeks."

Ruby tells INSIDE EDITION all she wants is for Iggy Pup to come home.

Ruby: "I just want him back, because there are many other dogs out there that actually need to be rescued.  Need a home.  Iggy already had one...I'm sorry for all this confusion and chaos, but I just want him back so so badly."

Ruby also speaks with INSIDE EDITION about the death threats Mutts and Moms is now receiving.

Ruby: "I heard the agency is getting death threats, and that is totally ridiculous.  No one should get death threats.  I feel bad about that.  And, I think Mutts and Moms, what they do is a great thing.  They rescue dogs, but I just want my dog back."

Ruby also says she does not blame DeGeneres.

Ruby: "It's not Ellen's fault.  She just wanted to give it to a good home.  That's what she did."

DeGeneres's hairdresser Cheryl tells INSIDE EDITION there is no reason why her home would be unfit for Iggy Pup.

Cheryl: "There was not a reason in the world that she could say, my children didn't get along with the dog, my dog didn't get along with the dog, that my home wasn't appropriate.  She didn't ever look at the house."

INSIDE EDITION spoke with Marina Baktis who says Iggy has already been placed with another family.

Baktis: "I've been crying a lot too.  If Ellen and Portia did what they were supposed to do, a little girl wouldn't be crying."

Baktis says she specifically went over the "no right to transfer" clause in the adoption contract with Ellen's partner Portia de Rossi.

Baktis: "I said, ‘Portia, this is really important.  If ever you can't keep it for any reason, you return it to me.'"

  Inside Edition is produced daily at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and produced and distributed by CBS Television Distribution, a unit of CBS Corp.  

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Contact:           Jessica Fielder, Inside Edition

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