There's nothing wrong with that GoDaddy Puppy Ad (that was pulled from Superbowl)

[magical thyme]

118. there are numerous rescue organizations, often associated with specific breeds, that bring the dogs

in and foster them so you can meet them in state. Their requirements are more stringent than public shelters, but they want to ensure that the dog ends up in a furever home (barring unforeseen circumstances, of course) with somebody who can and will take good care of them in sickness and in health.

Here in Maine, even our normal shelters bring in dogs from out of state. Jake came as a puppy when 26 dogs in Arkansas -- mostly puppies and their moms, plus a couple individual dogs -- were going to be killed due to lack of space. Somebody from the Coastal Humane Society in Maine drove a van cross-country, loaded up all 26 dogs and brought them all back. So I got to meet Jake and his littermates. And the shelter to my north periodically brings in dogs from other parts of the country.

Otherwise, it definitely is a risk to rescue sight unseen. Luna was supposed to be a female lab cross -- the picture below his at the shelter. That dog probably had been snapped up. So it was a real surprise to see Luna -- a male rhodesian ridgeback cross -- come out of the van. But I had nearly adopted him based on his picture, and he met my #1 criteria; he gets along great with Jake.

The bottom line is that if you can't afford the rescue price, than you can't afford a dog. Even if the up front cost may be higher from a private shelter than the ongoing cost of caring from them, if you aren't willing to save the money to pay thoses costs, than you don't really want a dog.