A myth. Yes, there are wonderful dogs at a rescue, but there are also dogs with severe emotional problems from bad owners.
I have three friends who have gone the rescue route. One had to put the dog down after he bit four people including her, one severely. One is on puppy prozac and cowers in a corner most of the time. When she is not on the Prozac she wimpers and snarls if someone comes into the room. By choice she spends most of her time in a very expensive crate my friends had custom made for her. And the last one has been banned from our yard because he has three times viciously attacked my dog for no reason. The first two are/were purebreds a cocker and a lab. The third is a beagle/boxer mix that should be put down. All these people felt they were doing the right thing.
Thank you. I think there is room for both; but, I get very irritated by people who think that somehow I did something wrong because I have a purebred Corgi.
I actually got a weird reaction from someone, after we had first gotten our pup, because we bought him from a farm, where the young man's 4H project was raising Corgi pups. I mentioned this to someone and got a very bad look from them, because I hadn't gone to an "approved" breeder (I guess).
So, there seem to be people on both sides of this issue that are certain they know what is best for your family when it comes to getting a pet. I like getting a pure bred, because I can see what they were originally bred for, and have an idea of what type of personality I'm getting. I like herding dogs because they are easily trained and are very smart, which makes them fun. However, some of them are a little too smart, even for me (hello border collies), so I go for the smaller breeds in that category. Shelties and corgis.
My little guy will be 12 years old at the end of April, and he has been a wonderful companion for our family.
If you want to get a dog from a shelter, fine. But, please try to restrain yourself from lauding it over someone, like me, who went to a breeder for a pure bred dog. Isn't there room for both?