If you're looking for a new pet, let me strongly suggest that you consider rescuing a pet instead of going to a breeder. If you're looking to show a dog, then by all means, go to the best breeder you can find for your chosen breed. But if a pet is your goal, you can give an animal a loving home by going to a rescue organization.
Most people know about Humane Societies, pet stores and ads in the paper as ways to find a pet. And, of course, there's the internet. But do you also know that every breed of dog and most breeds of cats have rescue organizations of their own? Most of these rescues are run by breeders who truly know their own breeds and want their dogs/cats to have the best homes possible. Later in this section, you'll find a list of rescues with websites and/or contact info. There are also many many rescue organizations for pets, including dogs (purebreds and mixes), cats, rodents, reptiles, birds, and even ferrets. I've tried to include all that I know about, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area.
When you work with a rescue organization, you'll get a pet who is truly suited to you and your lifestyle. Many of these animals live with foster families, and those people know their personalities, whether they like kids, cats, dogs, etc. They know if they are very active, couch potatoes, or somewhere in between. Rescuing an adult animal is also a benefit because you know how big it will get (it's already there) and these animals are past the puppy stages of chewing everything, they're mostly housebroken, etc. Most rescues get their animals spayed/neutered and updated on vaccines, so that's less you'll have to take care of.
My husband and I have adopted 6 dogs and 2 cats from rescue organizations, and all of them have been wonderful pets. Animals bond to their new owners extremely quickly, and they are truly thankful to have a good home, since most of them have experienced a less than good home in the past.
If, for whatever reason, you want a purebred dog or cat, especially a puppy, and want to get on from a breeder, it would be helpful if you knew what to look for in a breeder. The following is a list of "traits" of a good breeder. A good breeder
It is my (and other people's) opinion that pet stores should never sell animals. They are a great place to buy good quality foods, toys, etc. Many pet stores get their puppies from puppy mills, and the quality cannot be guaranteed. A puppy mill is a place (many of them are in the mid-west part of the country) where dogs are bred without consideration of quality. The goal of many puppy mills is to produce as many dogs as possible. Many times the conditions are appalling- filthy, dogs kept in small cages, dogs bred at every heat cycle, and any female bred to any male (including possibly their own kids/parents). The dogs can be fraudulently registered or false paperwork can be produced showing "pedigrees" which do not really exist. My opinion is that no one should ever buy a dog from a pet store.