With all the recent puppy mill and back yard breeder attention and raids that are ever increasing, I am increasingly convinced that we may soon need to add puppy mill releases/raids to your top three list.

In the past two weeks I’ve helped organize a large raid on a Chihuahua puppy mill and a mixed toy breed mill. Although I have yet to see or hear of a Shiba specific raid (doesn’t mean there hasn’t been one!), there always seems to be a handful that pop up in the toy or small breed raids. Both of the above mentioned raids resulted in literally HUNDREDS of dogs being released to the public (mostly to pounds and rescue groups breed-specific and not) who may not all be breed standard but most are close enough that the lay person who’s fallen in love with the “insert newest fun breed here” wouldn’t know the difference. I am also often floored at how many people don’t know what breed specific rescue means and what kinds of dogs end up there.

I am proud to be actively involved in advocacy on puppy mills. I’m also proud that action is being taken to close these places down and find loving (and hopefully) lifetime homes for all these pure bred puppy mill dogs. However, for each one we manage to close down there are thousands more in the US and each new one that is busted up brings hundreds to thousands of more dogs onto the rescue market that is already overwhelmed. It is a bittersweet victory.

As Shiba’s become increasingly popular I fear their appearance in these puppy mill raids is only going to skyrocket… this may begin to encroach upon the very true top three reasons you listed that Shiba’s currently end up in shelters/rescue.

The whole situation is truly heartbreaking and often very overwhelming. Every single person who gets involved in assisting, educating, advocating, adopting, fostering, rescuing… everything done behind the scenes to help breed specific (and non-breed specific rescues) deserves recognition and praise.