Quote Originally Posted by Powerlounger
Firstly, I am stating a simple fact. Breeders provide dogs. So do shelters. People want dogs. And they have that choice as to where to go to get a dog. Go to that breeder, a dog in a shelter dies. But some breeder has a fatter wallet. Deal with it.

Yup, taking that deep breath now, big mama.
You should take a deep breath before you "speak" not after. You may find it helps you to think better.

You misunderstand the difference between people who love animals and people who own animals. People who love animals will go to a reputable breeder to obtain an animal that is bred for certain characteristics and abilities. That is not true of most of the dogs found at shelters (if a reputable breeder had bred the dog, he/she would have taken the dog back). They are looking for a dog that can do certain things without causing stress or possible injury to the dog (agility, hunting, frisbee, and many other activities). They get a dog that can perform that function. In addition to that dog, animal lovers may or may not have dogs/animals from the shelter. Whether they do or do not doesn't matter, what does matter is that they are not going to get a dog from a shelter for this particular purpose. So no shelter dog will be saved. Please note that we are at all times talking about reputable breeders, which has a much higher standard than someone who has two purebred dogs that do not have any known health problems. People who own animals are not the ones going to reputable breeders, people who love animals are.

Unfortunately, in your scenario, no one would be spending the time and money to develop dogs whose bodies and organs can actually perform the activities they were bred to do and that we enjoy doing with them. So rather than contributing money to the local animal welfare agencies we are spending money on knee surgeries, or glucosamine, or heart medicines for our poorly bred dogs.