Ellen DeGeneres Surprises Animal Rescuers Jennifer and Jim

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The impact that Jennifer and Jim have on the folks around them is enormous.

Their work rescuing and fostering dogs was so important to others that when their dog got sick, Jennifer's second-grade class started a lemonade stand to help with the medical costs.

They told their story on the Ellen Show and got a pretty sweet surprise.

DeGeneres welcomed Jennifer and Jim and talked a bit about what they do for pitbulls in particular. DeGeneres says she knows that pitbulls are controversial but they are really sweet dogs and can sometimes be raised the wrong way.

She commended the couple for taking on the challenge of helping these dogs.

The host also said that sometimes pitbulls are sweeter than other dogs. The broke into a conversation about Pearl, a dog they recently saved.

Jim said when they brought Pearl into their family, she began to lose a lot of weight.

They couldn't figure out why and the vet could not either. So, they brought Pearl to the ICU at NC State, who ran tests on Pearl to find out she had a condition called EPI.

The medical bills to get her healthy were about $15,000-$16,000 and they wanted to fight for Pearl as long as she was still alive. Jennifer's students heard that Pearl was sick and raised $120 towards the cost of the bills from a lemonade stand.

DeGeneres says she hopes Pearl is better now and provided the couple with a decked out lemonade stand for her students.

DeGeneres and Shutterfly also gave the couple $10,000 to help with the costs. You can watch Ellen DeGeneres surprise animal rescuers Jennifer and Jim below.

Watch Ellen DeGeneres Surprise Animal Rescuers Jennifer and Jim