Not just viral, epidemic! It's the Ellen show for Wellesley firefighters who rescued dog who fell through ice

What about Crosby? Doesn't she deserve some
California sun?

Wellesley firefighters who saved Crosby, a Wellesley golden retriever who fell through the icy Charles River at Elm Bank, are headed to Burbank, California this weekend to tape a segment of the Ellen show. Taping will take place on Monday and the show will air on Tuesday.

Producers called the station this week and said that Ellen DeGeneres had seen the world-famous video of the rescue shot by Wellesley police. Ellen, a vegan known for her love of animals, wanted to have them on the show. The heartwarming story, breaking just before Christmas, went viral.

Ellen told Modern Dog magazine about her own rescues (hey, Ellen, we rescued a budgie!):
I have a million bird rescue stories. I rescued a hummingbird that had drowned. A hummingbird! Which is the weirdest thing. It was not at all responding. Its eyes were closed. It was just laying in the palm of my hand, soaking wet, and I took it and put its beak from flower to flower, and all of a sudden I saw its tongue come out of its mouth. I couldn't believe what was happening-to go from being a lump in my hand, to its eyes opening, to literally taking off. It was at a horrible point in my life where I was so depressed and it saved me. I realized that you never know when a hand is going to scoop you up and put you from flower to flower. To me, animals are an amazing example of who we can be and what the connection is. Whether it's a dog or a cat or....I rescue things I shouldn't. I almost had a coyote in my car once that I thought was a dog. I almost had it. People were honking at me and it was in the middle of the street and I had the car door open and I was calling it. Everybody was screaming and honking, and I'm like: "You shut up! Why aren't you saving this dog?!" And then as it got closer, I was like: "I think that's a coyote." 

Four firefighters plan to fly to the west coast: Firefighter Dave Papazian, who reached Crosby and turned her toward shore; Lieutenant Paul Delaney, who also got in the icy water;  Firefighter Joan Cullinane, who held the ropes attached to Papazian and Delaney to keep them safe; and Capt. Jim Dennehy.

Producers interviewed the firefighters this week and gave the go-ahead yesterday.

It's not the first time Ellen has feagured firefighter dog rescuers. "I love firefighters," Ellen said last year when two Las Vegas firefighters who had rescued puppies from a fire came on her show.

Crosby's owner, Amy Kapinos, reportedly also will be on the show.