Puppy Mills And Other Rants

This is Kyle. He was found in the woods near Seattle. They suspect he was a 'dump' from a puppy mill. He was extremely scared and not socialized at all. A friend of mine adopted him from a rescue group and his story is somthin'. He ran off the 2nd day she had him. She spent 5 days (3 of which she slept in a park) looking for him. Finally, he was located at a shelter. He has been with her ever since, and has turned into a really fine dog. This is in the book. There is so much more to all of these dogs stories in the book, it's hard to tell them in  200 words or so. But, I'm doing my best to share all of these. Friends, please unless you are showing dogs (and I'm not even sure how I feel about using dogs prancing in a ring for our entertainment) don't buy a dog from a breeder. Am I trying to put them out of business? You bet. I know from hearing these stories, and from an experience a friend had at breeding her dog and selling pups; It is not a profitable business unless you have volume. And that means endless litters, and culling the undesirable pups etc...etc...There are more than enough full breed and mixed breed dogs at rescue orgs. This past weekend I stopped by the local Petco where For Pet's Sake was having an adoption event. There was a both a smooth coat and long haired doxie, a poodle, and a chihuahua. Perfectly good dogs that either were abandoned or dropped off for one reason or another...Getting a dog is a huge responsibility. Don't get one if you can't afford to take care of it, or if you have a baby and thus have 'no time' for it, or you are in an unstable relationship. I don't have a dog right now, although I would LOVE to. But I know I'm not in a good situation to adopt...yet. Getting a dog should NOT be an impulse, because that impulse attraction wears off pretty quickly when the puppy pees and poops on the floor or cries all night. Can you tell I feel strongly about this? Yup. I'm up on my soapbox.
 Now, just to end on a positive note: I am so impressed with all of those folks out there who rescue and adopt and work tirelessly to take care and further this effort to keep all dogs off the street and in good homes. Thank you. Keep at it, you are doing the good work. You give me hope.