I hope everyone who thinks it's OK to "just breed her once" or "just buy one dog" reads this all the

[pnwmom]

62. Where do you think most dogs in shelters come from?

They're mostly dogs that other people once purchased from pet stores, puppy mills, and backyard breeders -- that for one reason or another finally end up in shelters. In other words, except for the occasional "accidents" (fewer and fewer with spay/neuter campaigns), they're "designer pets" with a new label -- "rescue" or "shelter" animal.

Shelter dogs here are mostly older dogs and often have health and/or behavioral issues because of how they were bred or raised. Responsible breeders, who are concerned about their dogs' physical and emotional health, make their buyers sign a contract that they will give the dog back to the breeder if it needs re-homing, so those dogs don't end up in shelters. Responsible breeders also spay or neuter their dogs, or require the purchasers do so by contract.

No Chihuahua or pitbull in a shelter (and that's what we have here, mostly -- the Chihuahuas are mostly imported from CA) is going to die because I want a "designer pet." It's going to die because too many puppy mills in the business of creating "designer pets" bred those dogs in the first place. My wish for a healthy, medium size dog that won't bother my allergies doesn't lead to an over-abundance of other dogs in shelters, anymore than my wish for a dog instead of a cat leads to an over-abundance of cats.