@ LittleWolf : it's the tie i have with my dog, that's why i want the next one (*cross finger* it's a JRT) as a puppy.
Nisa: My comments are not specifically directed at you, rather at anyone considering getting a pet. But seriously, you don't need to get a puppy to forge strong bonds. Go and ask your adopted older dog on this, I'm sure (s)he will have a definite opinion on this!
There's of course nothing wrong with getting a puppy. But there's thousands of dogs in Singapore who cannot find a home just because they're a bit older or not quite purebreeds. If one can give one of them a home instead of having the puppy mills produce yet another one (and have the puppy mills create more misery and suffering as a side effect), this is IMHO a strong argument to compromise a bit on the picture of the "ideal dog" that floats around in your mind. The more people are willing to do this and prove the prejudices wrong, the more acceptable will this choice appear to others. It's basically compromising a teeny bit on your own desires for doing The Right Thing(TM).
I don't want to support any puppy mills as well... but it's not easy to get a puppy, if not from a pet store. And to get the RIGHT puppy is not easy too!
It depends how picky you are... how do you know the dogs you don't consider wouldn't turn out to be the "right" ones? No dog (or human being, for that matter) is flawless, plus they change/evolve over time (particularly puppies!), you learn to love them with warts and all.
Most people are more concerned about their own children than a pet, and yet people are willing to accept and love their children as they are, even if they don't have the desired gender or hair colour, or may even have a genetic variance (e.g. colour blindness).
Our dog has developed a limp, probably due to some injury from when he was a puppy. Still, he is the "right" one, although he looks quite different from what we had originally envisioned. Yet I'm sure, had we taken in another dog, we would have learned to love him/her just the same.
Basically, it boils down to whether you see your pet as an object, or a living being which should be afforded the dignity of being accepted for what it is, just as you expect your dog to accept you as you are as its master.
To all who absolutely want a puppy but can compromise on the pedigree status, there's lots and lots of adorable little puppies up for adoption from various rescue organisations (see e.g. here:
http://www.asdsingapore.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=8&Itemid=108). The sooner you adopt one, the sooner you free up a kennel or foster place for another dog in need.
End of sermon (again, directed at everyone, but noone in specific, so please don't feel attacked).