yay Mark...nice dawg!
We went through the same thing with the adoption of a dog, we knew the breed we wanted and tried our best to rescue an animal to no avail. One day we ended up in a pet store in the mall and there was the breed. She wasnt looking very good and could only muster a five minute burst during our visit before needing to curl up on my lap and sleep after a coughing fit.
From what we saw the dog was pretty ill and probably heading back to the puppy mill in a cardboard box before to long so we bought her for full retail from a pet store so I busted out a credit card and hauled her right to a local vet.
A few months later and some huge vet bills later we were blessed with a happy healthy dog. After all was said and done (cost of the dog, vet, medicine, ect, ect) the start up cost on our dog had to B close to $3000.00...probably the most expensive rescue on the planet.
Would I do it again? hellz yeah... our dog is what U say a family member and integral part of our daily life; As it looks to B the case with a lot of other pet owners here.
matter of fact...wheres my dog right now.. I want to pat her on the head.