would it be so wrong to...

[RockyRoad]

I agree in different ways with everyone who has posted.
My dad's friend was a GSD breeder (who passed away a few months ago ), and that is where we got Lady (Although please be aware I am against buying from breeders, if I was not three years old at the time I would have convinced them to adopt from a shelter). Anyway, he never sold to pet stores. I do not think many breeders do. Puppy and kitty mills sell to pet stores. I went to PetCo once to get treats for Lady, Sally, and Floppsy. Well I looked around at the Bettas, it was disgusting! The poor things were swimming in such dirty bowls! I know lots of people are all for PetCo, but I do not like the one near us at all, because they do not know how to care for their fish (My dad told me some fish were lying there dead, and the water was brown). Another BAD pet store was BJ's Jungle or something like that. It was the worst thing I had ever seen in my life. I swear to you, there was flies everywhere, even in the fish tanks! It was a very small store, about the size of my room, and sold fish, birds, and rodents. The rats were very skinny, and did not look healthy at all. Neither did much of the pets there. Fortunately, that store was closed down a few months ago. I hope they never go back in business, it was just horrible.
OK, back to you. As long as you see that the pets are healthy, and the other staff seems to be nice to them and care for them, I think you should go for it. I mean, it's not exactly promoting puppy/kitty/whatever mills, it's not like you are buying one. You are a teen, you need the experience. I would take it, as long as it was not one of the two places I talked about above (But I bet your PetCo is much better). (I've found that PetLand is a great place) But most importantly, I think you should do what you feel you want to do. Good luck.