Questions to ask yourself before you buy a puppy?

Do I have thousands of dollars of disposable income to spend should my dog get very sick on vet bills?

What would happen if my dog dies?

Will I be able to care for an animal for the next 8 to 22+ years? (the oldest dog ever lived was a dachsund)

If you think it should be very easy to purchase a dog, then you have fallen into the hands of the oldest trick of pet stores. They put these cute little furry puppies in front of the windows so they appear helpless, weak and loveable with these adoring eyes to trick you. As time goes by the clock is ticking, every day that someone doesn't buy the dog, the dog gets older and less cute..who will buy the dog now?

But because mostly everyone falls into this manipulative marketing of animal selling, the cycle continues, and the pet stores take more money into their pocket and facilitate the puppy mills. Puppy mills breed and breed until puppies come out, if they don't die after birth and look somewhat normal, they get shot up until they are "okay". They are then pulled out by the legs, arms and handled improperly and shoved into a box with false papers claiming wrong dates of birth and genetic history. There are states that do not have even laws about puppy mills.

That dog is shipped to the pet stores and made "cute" so you will buy it.

You buy it, it gets sick, it dies..you blame the pet store. So what, right? Buy a new one!

You buy it, it is healthy, you don't care to recognize just how lucky that little dog with the worst living conditions when it was born before it came to you. And how lucky you are.

You are not doing any "rescuing", "saving" when you act on these crimes. You drive this cycle and it gets worse every day.

Be ready to spend a lot of time and effort to save up for a dog, interview with a breeder, be on a waiting list, drive or fly to the breeder, walk the breeders home, eat dinner with the breeders' family, and you will get a call to see if you were approved or not to bring your puppy home. In most cases, you won't be until the breeder deems you as a good owner for the dog. That is the price of waiting for something good.

The reason why it is so difficult to get a dog from a certified breeder that is doing everything right because the demand is high, and supply is low. They actually love their dogs, and care about their dogs like their own children. They don't want to let them go. If they do not sell, breeders do not care, they will take them in and love them.

If you just want a dog, today, right now!, now! now! now! Go to a pet store, and see how much trouble you would have to buy the dog you like. You give money, they give you the dog, you go home, and you have dog. IT IS A TRANSACTION FOR MONEY AND BUSINESS, NOT LOVE. This will happen almost instantly.