Content Summary : So you’ve decided to get a dog. You’re prepared to feed, exercise, train, clean up after, work through problems with, and love a dog every day for the next 10 to 20 years. You’ve evaluated your lifestyle and know exactly what sort of dog you’re looking for (e.g., a high energy dog to go running with you or a more sedate dog to lounge on the couch with you), and you know that you need to seek desired characteristics in individual dogs, not just a breed, because breed is no guaran- tee of temperament or likes and dislikes. Because you know that about one in every four dogs in U.S. animal shelters is purebred, you start there, because you want to do a great thing and help a homeless dog. You know that most dogs lose their homes because of “people rea- sons” like cost, lack of time, lifestyle changes (new baby, divorce, moving, or marriage), or allergies, and not because of something the dog has done. You’ve checked out the purebred rescue group for your de- sired breed, but still haven’t found “The One.” And you know better than to buy a puppy from a pet store because most of those puppies come from mass breeding facilities better known as puppy mills. So you’ve decided to buy a dog from a breeder---but you How toFind aGood DogBreeder S don’t want to support someone who doesn’t have the dogs’ best interests in mind. How do you identify a reputable breeder? First, know that good breeders don’t breed to make money — they don’t sell their puppies to the first person who shows up with cash in hand. Too often, unsuspecting people buy puppies from “backyard breeders” (or neighbors) who breed their dogs to make a lit- tle money or simply because they have dogs “with papers.”