For those of you who keep up with American news stories that involve animals, you probably are aware of the controversy surrounding the television host, Ellen DeGeneris.

Ellen adopted an animal from a rescue group. She signed a form saying she would return the animal to them if it didn't work out. Without  permission from the rescue group, Ellen gave the dog, Iggy, to her hairdresser's family. In only two weeks, the family became attached to the dog.

The rescue group found out that Ellen had not lived up to the terms of the contract. Amidst much publicity and controversy, they took Iggy away from his new home.

Ellen tearfully told the story on her TV show. She begged the rescue group to return Iggy to her hairdresser's family and its two distraught children. The situation became an international news story that raised more questions than answers.

The publicist for our books asked us to comment on the story. A journalist for a national magazine was doing a follow up article and wanted to know what questions should be asked.

Below is a shortened version of what we wrote; based on the information we had at the time.

"It is easy to slip into binary thinking and label Ellen or the rescuers as either all right or all wrong. Ellen obviously operated in good faith but admittedly made a mistake that involved innocent parties being hurt. The rescue group decided not to make an exception for Ellen. Perhaps they even thought it would be a service to make an example of a celebrity violating their rules.

"Every day rescuers take animals out of abusive situations where they have been through hell. It's only natural that they would want to be involved in any new placement after doing a study and finding what they think will be a good home for the animal. Ellen also wanted a good home for the dog. So essentially both parties were on the same page. What went wrong?

"Whether it's an organization or an individual, it all boils down to one key question: What would love do?

"When rescuing, placing, and adopting animals devolves into power plays, the welfare of the animal goes by the wayside as humans debate."

As we all go about our volunteer or staff work of rescuing animals, if we keep asking, "What would love do?" we are more likely to make decisions that are compassionate, good for the animal, and good for everyone.