Dogecoin Has Caused Demand For Shiba Inu Dogs To Skyrocket And Breeders Are Worried About Rise In Cases Of Mistreatment, Abuse, Abandonment - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin’s DOGE/USD popularity has led to a surge in demand for the Shiba Inu breed of dogs but it also has breeders worried about the rising cases of mistreatment, abuse and abandonment of the dogs, Coin Rivet has reported.

What Happened: Jeri Burnside, co-founder of the Shiba Club of Southern California and the Shiba Rescue of Southern California, was quoted by Coin Rivet as saying that indiscriminate volume breeding by “backyard breeders and puppy mills” could result in a popular dog breed becoming a ‘fad.’

Poorly bred dogs could suffer from several health issues, including the possibility of developing glaucoma.

See also: How To Buy Dogecoin (DOGE)

Inexperienced dog owners’ lack of awareness about the Shiba Inu breed’s temperamental characteristics has aggravated the crisis, Burnside added.

Shibas will never be entirely trustworthy off-leash as they are a Japanese hunting dog breed that was developed using wolf genetics, she noted.

Rescue organizations are now struggling to deal with the influx of poorly bred, unsocialized and untrained Shibas that are given up by their owners, Burnside said.

Why It Matters: The Shiba Inu breed is seeing high demand from dog lovers, courtesy Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk and popularity of Dogecoin, a Shiba Inu-themed cryptocurrency. Musk in June announced he had adopted a Shiba Inu dog named "Floki."

Created mainly as a joke in 2013, Dogecoin has shot to prominence this year, in major part due to endorsement from Musk. The meme cryptocurrency’s year-to-date gains are an impressive 4,917.5%.

Price Action: Dogecoin is up almost 0.5% during the last 24 hours, trading at $0.2860 at press time.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs