My first cat I adopted was a black cat that when we went to the pet adoption place, they had probably a hundred cats all in little cages. Fred was the only cat that didn't just lay there, he came up to the cage door and stuck his paws out between the bars to try to get our attention. Essentially he chose us. My wife has bought a couple of our dogs from breeders but in both cases they were dogs that couldn't be papered, one was too short the other too tall to meet breed standards and so would have ended up in a shelter or put down. All of my cats and my dogs were either feral or adopted. And if you think you can't get a purebred from an adoption agency, wrong, my Siamese cat is from Paws, one of my Dobermans and a Weimaraner were both from shelters. You might have to wait a little longer or look a little harder but they can be found if that is your preference. Personally I actually think mixed breeds are often superior, purebreds are inbreeds and have and have all the genetic baggage that comes with that. Also, a lot of breeds have reputations but the truth is there are no bad breeds, just bad owners that raise dogs and cats irresponsibly and do not properly socialize them. Dobermans, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, all have reputations but actually if properly socialized can be wonderful pets, even around small children. In fact I think they tend to tolerate small children much better than many smaller breeds.