[capt_noonie]

I've volunteered with a rescue for a few years now, and there are others on here that have been doing it for a very long time. 99% of the breeders are NOT good breeders. Reputable breeders are extremely hard to find, and they are part of the huge problem of all these millions of perfectly good dogs getting put down every year. These breeders are ones that do not check out potential buyers. They will sell to anyone who has the money. They don't interview the family to see if they are a fit. They sell to brokers, pet shops, and online to anyone sight unseen. If the puppy has a problem, the health guarantee doesn't cover anything past 72 hours or a few months at best, and will just offer you to return the puppy for a new one (who would agree to that anyway?). I could go on. So yes, they are very wide spread.

And yes, people all the time say mean things about small breeds. We get more cute comments more than the mean ones thankfully. People who automatically hate small dogs seriously have a problem. With a man he def has a problem with his own masculinity. Don't they know a man with a small dog is a HUGE chick magnet?