"To those who stand in judgment of her for getting a dog from a breeder instead of a shelter, why don't you shame her too, for having her own biological children rather than adopting a homeless teenager."

"She has 2 kids and a small living space with no yard, so they likely wanted a dog that's small, with no behavioral problems, one they can train, and not a ten year old, 100 lb German Shepherd with behavioral issues. So why don't you go shame someone else, rather than a mother doing her best to provide comfort to her family during a pandemic."

That's the second-highest-rated comment on "I hated dogs, but I hated the pandemic more. Would a puppy help? So what if he chews the furniture and shreds my papers. He opened up our locked-down world" by Lara Bazelon (WaPo).

I love the commenter's question, because I was just wondering the exact same thing. Why don't the people who think you should get a "rescue" dog when you want a dog also think you should get a "rescue" child when you want a child? In fact, isn't the argument for adopting an older child with special needs even stronger than the argument for adopting an older dog that hasn't had the advantages of a loving home and careful training? After all, many dogs are euthanized, but we strive to keep all our children alive even when they have terrible behavioral problems. And dogs are kept under the control of owners all their lives, while children become adults and are allowed to move about freely in the world even when they are quite dangerous. It's therefore especially important to take great care of all of the children who have been born into this world.

People will say that they want their own biological offspring, but what makes you think what you have to give genetically is so wonderful? Dog breeders have much higher standards selecting which dogs to use for breeding. People just decide to use themselves. When you have your own biological children, you're picking yourself because you are yourself. I'm not saying that's wrong. In fact, I think it's quite beautiful, making something out of your own body and the body of a person you love. So I'm beginning to see the answer to my question. When you have your own child, you're not being a eugenicist, looking for the ideal baby. You're accepting the randomness of who you happen to be and who you've found to love. The baby grows out of that is more like a rescue dog than a breeder's dog.