ice water and ocicats

Responsible breeders (dog or cat) do make important contributions. They breed for health and temperament, which matter tremendously not only over the life of the individual animal but for the breed as a whole as well. With dogs it can matter even more because most breeds were conceived as working animals with a specific purpose and those instincts can mean a lot when you are choosing a dog, for a pet or for a job. But there are so many breeds now whose genetic lines are just wrecked and there is such an overpopulation of shelter pets. It's hard to know when you are reinforcing a breeder who is doing something good in the long-term or not.

I think our next dog is going to be another shelter pit puppy. We both like the temperament and have no issues with the stereotypes. That said, I suspect there will be more Dalmatians in our future too. Ironically, our shelter cat has proven to be the most expensive animal we've ever had, thanks to his bladder surgery. So there really aren't guarantees no matter what.