Pet stores sell pets. That is why they are in business.
I own several tropical fish. I bought them at the pet store. Was I supposed to go to the Amazon river and trap them myself and bring them home to Ohio? Was I supposed to go to lake Victoria and get the Ciclids from the source.
I think it is better that I get them from a reputable pet store that buys them from breeders as apposed to poachers.
As for dogs. If you want a specific breed, I would have no idea where to go. I have no dogs and am not interested in owning one. To me the best dog is one that I do not live wit and doesn’t use my yard as a rest stop.
A rescue animal is great, but like single children to middle aged career women a pet is often the child they forgot to have when they where young, fertile and trying to crack the glass ceiling. So they just want what they want. That is often an exotic breed that is only available from pet stores or high end breeders who claim they are not puppy mills. How would they really know?
According to PETA, you are not supposed to have animals at all. Any way they can work toward achieving that goal, they do.