I will admit to being a little overly passionate about this, but I will never buy a dog from a breeder.
1) There are too many dogs who needs homes today. Like you said, look in the shelters. They aren't all mixes either. There are purebreeds that someone bought, decided they couldn't take care of, and dropped at the shelther. There are too many dogs in this country, period.
2) Buying a dog from a breeder just keeps the level of demand up. The more you buy, the more they will produce. Have you ever seen what a dog looks like after having multiple litters of puppies and then tossed aside? That is disgusting as well.
3) Puppy mills. Yes, many breeders are reputable, care for dogs, etc. But if you go to a pet store, those dogs are coming from puppy mills most likely. That is the most disgusting thing you will ever see. Dogs don't have food or water. They don't leave their cages ever. The owners couldn't give a damn about the dogs. If you feel like you need to throw up, research puppy mills.
If you don't want to go to the shelter, look online for pet rescues. Those people go and rescue dogs from shelters in an attempt to save them from being put down. If you take a dog from a rescue, they can go and rescue another dog.
www.petfinder.com
that is a great site for this.
Anyway - just my two cents. Good luck Doc and sorry again about this. It's horrible.