Question: Where can I get a Puppy?
Answer: Finding that special canine can sometimes mean a lot of legwork. Unless you have a specific breed in mind, you could spend months contacting various shelters, animal control offices, and newspaper ads. After all, bringing home the first dog you come across might not be such a grand idea. You'll need to be sure that you and the potential companion "click" well together.
The Shelter Pet
Giving a homeless dog a home is always a good thing, but make sure you ask the right questions of the volunteers that work there. Most shelter pets are owner turn-ins, for one reason or another, sometimes something as trivial as "he didn't match the furniture". The workers can tell this, also what they know of the dog's history, and they've often evaluated the dog to see how well it will fit in to a family environment, or if it needs a child-less home, or a single-dog home. Be prepared to answer some very pointed questions too. The workers will want to make sure that any home these pets go to will be that "forever" home.
Newspaper Puppy
You see a lot of these in the pet classified section of your newspaper. "Free to good home, 5 puppies, black and white".
There's really only one big problem with this. You have no idea what kind of temperaments went into making these pups, and health problems could be financially disastrous later on. There's no such thing as a "free" puppy.
Breed Rescue
If you want to give a homeless dog a home, but still want a purebred, breed specific rescues are the way to go. These are typically run by a dedicated group of volunteers who pay out of pocket for most expenses, and who know their breed better than most. If you go through a breed rescue for a dog or puppy, you'll know that the very best care has been taken in matching a dog to you for the best possible combination.
Breeder
If you want to know exactly who your dog's parents are, want to show, want to work, or want detailed health history, a breeder is the way to go. Just be very careful, and be sure that any breeder you select is an ETHICAL one! Check the national club of the breed you want, and find one of the Code of Ethics breeders. Ask several breeders to refer you to one in your area.
Pet Stores
Pet stores are the worst possible place to look for a new dog unless your particular pet store is working with it's local humane society. Puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy mills, and are often riddled with disease and parasites, and more often than not, severe genetic deficiencies or gross negligence cause debilitating illnesses later on in life, often around a year of age.
For more information about the difference between a responsible and a pet store, please read "Responsible Breeders versus Pet Stores".
Happy Hunting!
