KM, I don't know what the answers are to this problem, but I just wish more breeders were as responsible as you. My take on this, and it may be the wrong way of looking at it, is that if every breeder required s/n of pet quality pups then the BYB's wouldn't have anything to breed because the pet would already be fixed.  I totally agree that the BYB's and petshops are a HUGE contributer to this problem......in fact, I'm sure they are the majority of it, but where are the BYB's getting their breeding dogs from?  Irresponsible breeders.

I could go buy a hundred AKC dogs tomorrow and breed out the ying yang....not knowing a thing about dog breeding.  It is those breeders I am talking about.  How do we put those breeders out of business?  The only thing I can come up with is legislation that if you breed, you must breed show quality dogs and s/n the pet quality pets before they leave your care.  That way a potential BYB doesn't get a hold of a pet quality dog and start breeding, which keeps the cycle going.

The cost of legislation and licensing may outweigh the cost that a quality breeder can get back on their dogs, I don't know....but something has to be done.  Shelters are not the answer here.  They are not getting adopted fast enough, you can buy a purebred for what an adoption fee costs (and many people buy from a BYB just because of that), shelters are getting even more picky about who can adopt.......all of this is causing drastic overcrowding and despite all the wonderful attempts of the volunteers who work at these shelters, the problem seems to be getting worse.

It doesn't help if the shleter adopts out 50 spayed or neutered dogs in a given week and then there are 200 intact dogs sold through the newspaper in that same week.  If these BYB's were stopped, then you could see the shelters making a difference, but the shelters are taking in more than they are sending out. 

My curiosity led me to call a the Middle Tennessee Lab Resuce today to see what their numbers were (because I am partial to labs).  Last month they recieved over 300 labs and have a 2 month waiting list before any more can be dropped off.  If people call her and can't drop off their lab, they will take it to Metro Animal Control which gives them 3 days to be adopted before beign PTS.  300 labs is a lot!  That is one breed, one private shelter, in one month.

I have spoken to many people who hate the idea of government intervnetion, but the people as a whole have shown that they cannot  be responsible.  I think the government will step in on its own eventually......and probably already has in some places.....as you mentioned in your area.

I just wish I knew what to do.   Donating money to a shelter is only a temporary fix.  Its not the solution.  Having so many shelters available only makes it easier for people to drop animals off.  People need to take responsibility for their animals......of course Im not saying that shelters are not doing any good.....the dogs need somewhere to go....but it just seems like they make it so easy to just 'drop them'.  You can't fine them for dropping off a dog because then people would then just start leaving them in ditches and alleys (some already do, but it would increase the number left like that if a fine were placed on them).  It just seems like a never ending cycle with no end in sight.

Stiff legislation on breeders is the only answer I see.  Unfortunately, that would include breeders such as yourself who have demonstrated the utmost in care when breeding and homing their dogs because once legislation is in place it affects everyone.

Educating people about s/n, adopting, and BYB's doesn't seem to be making much of an impact.  I agree with Dusty, something needs to be done...and fast.

I just wish I knew how and what it was.