One thing that took me by surprise when I founded NYC Shiba Rescue, was how often people would ask me "What’s wrong with Shibas? Why do they need to be rescued?" At every event Snickers and I attended representing NYCSR, numerous people would ask this!
What’s wrong with them? I didn’t even understand the question at first, but I soon realized that many people don’t realize there is any such thing as purebred rescue. Often, when a person wants a particular breed of dog instead of a mix, they automatically turn to a breeder or a pet store, not realizing there is another option. This is unfortunate and I want to do whatever I can to spread the word about purebred rescue.
Recently, I had the honor of being interviewed for a Shiba Inu breed profile page on woofpatrol.com. One of the topics we discussed was purebred rescue and WHY purebred dogs end up in shelters. Part of my response was:
Purebred dogs get dumped at shelters, abandoned at vet’s offices and dumped by the side of the road, just like mixes. Others run away without IDs and then aren’t claimed at the shelter. Many purebreds are dumped because people buy them at pet stores on impulse and then decide they don’t have the time or patience to care for a dog. Others are dumped because people don’t take the time to research and select a dog that fits their lifestyle and activity level.
And, now that I’ve had a couple years practice answering questions about Shiba rescue in particular, I was ready for this next question!
Woof Patrol: What are the top 3 reasons Shiba’s end up in shelters?
Me: 1. Unrealistic Expectations. People don’t do the research. Shibas are incredibly cute puppies, like little stuffed animals. Many people buy them without knowing what their personalities are like. Shibas don’t normally like to be held, hugged or handled excessively. They are high energy and therefore need a lot of exercise or they get into mischief. They are also VERY smart, so training them can be quite challenging for novice dog owners.
2. They Are Runners. Having been bred to hunt for thousands of years, Shibas have a high prey drive and will chase anything that runs. They are known escape artists – they bolt through doors, climb fences, slip collars – and then they’re off and running. By the time they stop, they’re usually far from home. They end up at a vet, having been hit by a car, or in a shelter as a stray. If they don’t have ID, sometimes the owner never finds them.
3. "Having A Baby" This applies to all breeds and mixes: way too many young people get a dog for companionship and/or to keep them busy. Then when they start a family, they dump the dog instead of investing some time into integrating the family.
To read more, check out the Shiba Inu breed profile on woofpatrol.com.
Of course, having just having been lucky enough to be trusted with Bella’s care, I felt emotionally drawn to responding to this.
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.