Dont get a puppy!!! They are so much trouble, ack.

What you need to do is zero in on a few breeds you like, make yourself known to breeders, and get on their waiting lists for retired breeding dogs. Ethical breeders breed their bitches only a couple of times, then th y need to find homes for them.

Where do you live? I find it really hard to picture a place that doesn't have thousands of shelter dogs. But then I live in the puppy mill capital of the US so we have lots of,dogs though not necessarily from mills.