SAN FRANCISCO -- Millions of viewers have grown attached to a live feed of six Shiba Inu puppies on the Internet, a phenomenon that started when a San Francisco couple set up a camera to keep an eye on the puppies remotely.

About six weeks ago, the couple began using a public Web site Ustream, which is based in Mountain View and allows Internet users to connect to live, interactive videos, as a way to watch the puppies while they were at work.

Ustream's director of operations happened to see it about a week after the puppy cam stream was posted on the free site, shared it internally and started a dramatic ripple effect, Ustream co-founder and CEO John Ham said.

"Everyone saw it, said it was really cute and shared it with everyone they knew," he said.

He said within three weeks, the 24-hour feed of barking, sleeping and playing puppies caught the eyes of about eight million viewers.

He said he had no idea the puppies would get this sort of attention.

"Not in a million dog years would I have thought something like puppies would have been shared as quickly as they have," he said.

The San Francisco couple who own the puppies wish to remain anonymous but viewers can periodically see their feet, laps and hands while they play with the puppies, three of which are male and three female.

The puppies were bred from the couple's own Shiba Inu, named Kika, and are already claimed for adoption.

Shiba Rescue volunteer Michelle Balestrieri adopts or fosters unwanted Shiba Inus in California and said the live stream worries her. Since the breed is so darling, people pay thousands of dollars to have them shipped to California but they end up not being the right fit, Balestrieri said.

"They are a lovely dog, clean breed and smart, but I just don't recommended them as pets," she said.

They tend to be unruly and independent and always have to be on a leash, among other concerns, she said.

Ham said he did not know enough about possible overflow problems with puppies but he did say it is important for owners to choose pets wisely.

He said addicted viewers might be disappointed when the webcam is taken down in about three weeks after the adopting owners take the puppies to their new homes. However, he plans to give them their own webcams so viewers can watch the pups grow up.

Until then, viewers can see them together, day or night, at Ustream's site here.