So, there's a puppy....

I'm torn here. We have a local flea market here, which sells a disgusting amount of BYB/Puppy Mill puppies. I happened to peek through the window today, and there was a puppy, probably 4-5 months old, sitting in a pen with two other and looking at me. Someting about her reminds me so much of Gambit that it was like a physical pull to her.

So I went in and looked at her. I know, just smack me now. She had a sign above her pen that said "Rescues- $30". She has had two puppy shots, no rabies, and is not spayed.

I do not want to keeps this puppy. I can not take care of another dog long term. But if I ask nicely, and agree to foster her until she can be adopted, I can get her in with a local rescue who will place her in a good home.

However, the thought of paying even 30$ for her makes me sick. I know that she has shots that cost more then that, but I don't want to give any money to someone who is selling these other BYB puppies. I'm also a little afraid of what girl-puppy might have been exposed to.

The 'lady', and I use the term loosely, will not give her away, though I did get the impression that she might flex a little on price.

What should I do? The area I live in is not a bad one, but it is very rural and ignorant, and I feel like Girl-puppy's other choice is living the rest of her life running loose or chained to her doghouse outside 24/7. But is saving one Girl-puppy worth giving money to a really lousy breeder/broker?

Help?

I understand the thinking behind not wanting to pay someone who you find unethical for a dog. But at the same time, you giving this lady $30 or $20 or whatever she'll take or not isn't going to change anything. You aren't her market and the people who are will continue to buy puppies from the flea market regardless of what you do or don't do. Of course, just because someone buys a dog at a flea market doesn't mean they won't be a good home either.

I don't know...do what your gut tells you to do. I once paid $200 to buy a may-have-been-bred Pug girl from a puppy mill breeder who was offering her up on first come first serve basis. I did not want to see that girl wind up in another mills hands, so I talked with Kentuckiana Pug rescue and offered to transport her/short term foster her if they could take her in, which they did. They offered to reimburse me the purchase price for her, but I just considered it a donation to the rescue. She ended up not being pregnant and was put into a foster home where she blossomed into a great little dog instead of the shy, terrified thing she was. I may have spent $200 on a puppymill dog...but her happy ending was worth it, and the dog would have been bought by someone anyway with a much likely less happier ending.