I don't support puppy mills and I want to make that clear - I have a mix I bought from a breeder w/ yorkies and maltese and we got our oops litter hence our baby mix. I read a lot on this forum about making sure your puppies are well-bred and AKC, but AKC gets 80%, yes 80%! of their business from puppy mills - that is something that breaks my heart! I would never ever buy from a pet store, but I do hope the puppy you get is healthy and does not cause heartbreak. When I was in college I worked at a mall that had a pet store - I would go in there on my break and look at the puppies and feel so bad for them, but I knew not to buy them - I hear many horror stories from a family friend who is a Vet - kennel mites, kennel cough all kinds of things. One thing I would do is ask to hold the puppies (they always let me - probably hoping for a sale) they would let me take the pup to a back room and I would play with him/her for my entire break - I kinda felt like I was giving the puppy a chance to walk on a real floor and some time to socialize. I even tried calling the Humane Association after seeing a maltese with what looked like sores and hair loss that was 5 months old, but I never got a real response.
Here is some good info to read up on!
http://www.friendsofanimals.org/prog...sic-facts.html