Here's a story about purebreds and breeders ... and my sister.

My sister wanted Siberian huskies. She did her research, and decided to buy two puppies. She said, "I've saved enough mutts in my lifetime, I can buy these purebred puppies and not feel bad. I am going to get exactly what I want, and I'm not going to feel bad about paying for them. I've done my part to help." Ok, no problem.

So, I find her a breeder, she picks out the puppies she wants. She wants two blue-eyed, silver and white females. The breeder assures her that is what they will be, and she puts down her deposit. Well, slight disappointment when one of the puppies eyes turn brown. Well, by then my sister is attached to them, and buys her anyway ... although she is a little bummed about not getting "exactly what she wants" after having paid a pretty penny for that right.

Then, at ten months old, one of her puppies has a grand mal seizure that they vet cannot stop. Everything is tried for hours and hours and hours ... finally the dog dies. HUGE heartbreak there.

After a while, my sister goes looking for another Sibe, since Lazer needs a friend. Well, that opened the door to discovering how very many, many, many homeless Sibes there are out there. My sister had not idea. She assumed that because they are a pretty, purebred dog, that they would never end up at a shelter, or on death-row at a pound. Soooo wrong.

Now, my sister runs a small Siberian rescue. She currently has nine dogs, but many, many dozens have found new homes through her. She says that she realizes now that she made a big, big mistake by assuming she had to buy a puppy from a breeder to get "just what she wanted", and didn't end up getting it afterall. She has found exactly the dogs she always wanted now, though ... in her adopted and rescue dogs.