I'm going with a catch 22 as well. But I know how you feel and how HARD it is to leave them behind.
I use to go in pet stores all the time and my daughter and I would play with the pups. I felt like by doing that I was giving them some 'time out of the cage' and some loving. I would leave in tears every time and cry the whole way home. I finally realized that I cannot do this to myself. I rarely go into the pet stores that have puppies and when I do, I won't take them out.
Poor babies...