As much as I have loved watching the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam, it really has me worried about the future of my breed There are so many people who are now making snap decisions about obtaining a Shiba, AND THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT THE BREED TO GET LIKE THAT! (I spotted one comment on a message board begging Santa to bring this person one for Christmas...)

First off most people are obtaining Shibas in poor ways (ie puppy stores/internet). 99.99% (actually it's 100% but I'll be diplomatic) of the puppies sold at the places come from puppy mills/backyrd breeders. Second, I researched Shibas for 4 years before we got Kitsu and even we were surprized at how cunning/devious she could be. That being said, I love her and all my Shibas to death, BUT THEY ARE NOT A BREED FOR EVERYONE, especially people looking for an easy going lap dog!

I have seen so many Shibas come from the horrors of the puppy mills sick, missing body parts, malnouished, teeth rotting out of their head, fur caked in feces and terrified of even the slightest human touch. Of the nearly 100 Shibas (yes 100) I have rescued, 60 of them have come directly from puppy mills. Most of the others were purchased as puppies and given up once they became adolescents and their owners were no longer willing to deal with their bad habits anymore (of which Shibas can develop many if not properly trained and stimulated by someone who is patient and understands how to handle them). And this is all from when the breed was virtually unknown in the US! It is making me sick to think how this breed is going to be exploited now.

ALL 9 of my family's Shibas are rescued from mills. Kitsu was going to be destroyed (read: starved or shot) because she had bad knees. Kiba, who had been purchased as a puppy from a puppy store, was dumped in a landfill, once he was done being "cute". When he was picked up by animal control he was immaciated with an imbedded collar. Duo was dumped at a vet in a cardboard box with one of his toes and penis chewed off. Sora had his tail chewed off along with the devastating parasite giardia. Riku (along with 3 other puppies) was going to be sent to auction before we pulled him out of the mill because he was too old to be sold to a dog broker. If we had not pulled him he would have been sold to another mill as breeding stock. He also had a very bad skin infection. Kairi was dumped at a vet because she was born with a hernia. She, like Sora, had giardia. Selphie was dumped into rescue because she had bad knees which, unlike Kitsu, required extensive surgery. Tsume and Rukia were rescued for the same reason as Riku (from the same mill) and Tsume has a grade 4 heart murmur that may kill him before he makes it to adult hood

I know what horrible places these mills are; I've been inside of them. It would make most dog-lovers do what I do. If the dogs aren't shoved in tiny cages barely big enough for them to stand up, turn around and lie down (in their poop!) then they are kept outsida (all year in all weather conditions-hot and cold) and subjected to the aggression of other more alpha dogs. I have seen a Shiba who was nearly torn to shreds by the miller's yard dog. The miller refused to take the poor 11 year old girl to a vet, she also refused to relinquish her to us. If she had, the dog would have received the vet care she desperately needed. I have no idea what happened to that dog...

Please if you are considering getting a Shiba because you've seen the puppy cam, talk to me first. I'd be happy to let you meet my pack They exemplify every characteristing of the breed. The website below gives real insight into what living with a Shiba is like. If you cannot laugh at what Julie states (and I mean EVERYTHING she states!) THEN YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS OWNING A SHIBA

[link] Feel free to pass this on to anyone you know who is considering getting a Shiba.

Oh an BTW there is now a copycat Shiba puppy cam. It just starts all over

Sorry for the long rant. It's been an equally long day. And (guess what?!) we have 7 more female Shibas being released from a mill in a couple weeks...