You're right about some people who shouldn't have pets.

Dogs are frequently bought as impulse items, like candy or checkout aisle toys. No thought is made to what the pet needs, only what the new owner wants. And they think the pet should automatically know (by ESP?) what the owner wants them to do, or not do.

They buy from puppymillers who only ask one question: "Cash, check or card?" The trash breeders are only interested in the money, not the dogs. They use poor-quality (maybe even not purebred) dogs with health and genetic problems, no OFA evaluations of hips and elbows, no DNA testing, no CERF eye exams. They feed the cheapest food they can find. The pups/dogs often aren't socialized or trained for even the very basics.

Buy from a pet shop? They come from puppy mills, every single pup. Ask, and they'll say they come from local, responsible breeders, and that is a 100% lie. Good breeders don't breed for impulse-buying pet shop buyers!!! Ask for the breeder contact info, just for laughs -- they'll refuse to give it to you.

By the time the pups pass the cute stage, they're often totally untrained, uncontrolled and boisterous, so they're relegated to the back yard or a chain. Esp when chained, they're often teased by kids and adults, frequently creating a vicious biter.

Spayed or neutered? Of course not! They chain the girl in the yard and 63 days after mid-heat she has puppies, which are either killed or dumped at the local shelter, or abandoned alongside a road in the country.

Just like people, they're often victims of their growing years. Sometimes they can be socialized and trained, but often not. Taking on an abandoned dog is a real crap shoot. I did it once, and will never do it again. And it wasn't the dog's fault. I lay all her faults on the idiot owner who got tired of her and turned her loose.

I only buy from a good, responsible, stable breeder, which is harder to find than you might think (last time took 2 yrs).

Look at the dogs for sale on your local Craigslist. Our economy is tanking, but the junk backyard breeders and 'designer dog' (*gag*) breeders are still breeding. And the morons are still buying.

And Animal Control is putting them to sleep almost as fast as they come in.

Sue