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Golden Retriever's Attempt to Get on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' Thwarted
Photo of a sad-looking golden retriever by wablair via Flickr
All Madalyn Ruggiero wanted to do was get her dog, Denali, on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." To accomplish that goal, reports the L.A. Times, the 37-year-old Ohio woman paid $6,000 to rent a billboard over the Cahuenga Pass. On it, she displayed a picture of Denali dressed up as Ellen.
A handsome golden retriever, Denali sported a checkered coat, black tie and a short blond wig in the photo. His mug was accompanied by the text, “Ellen, Denali the Dog Wants to Meet You.”
Sadly, Ruggiero and Denali were thwarted -- only five days into the billboard's expected six-week run, Tim Fox, a representative from the billboard company, CBS Outdoor, got in touch with Ruggiero and told her that they had heard from people affiliated with Ellen, and the sign had to come down.
“...the clothes the dog is wearing in the copy and the use of the name Ellen appears that they are trying to trade on the public image of Ellen DeGeneres,” Fox wrote by way of explanation to Ruggiero.
The billboard has since come down, but there's no word as to whether Denali will make it onto Ellen.
Here's hoping.
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