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If one goes with a reputable breeder, one has no need for papers. In fact, I'd be a lot more inclined to trust a breeder who had dispensed with the whole papers scam. But how many people know how to identify a "reputable" breeder? The people who traffic in puppy mill dogs put on big charades to look like "reputable" breeders. They keep an adult female on hand (temporarily at least), of the breeds they traffic in, and tell buyers "see, this here is the mom, she's our family pet, and the puppies were born right here".

My boss and his wife went to a private home to buy an advertised Maltese puppy, with papers (for over a$1000). Got there, saw a nice upper middle class suburban home, and what appeared to be a mama Maltese, presented as a family pet, with several puppies. They bought one, and a couple of days later decided they wanted another one; called the "breeder" and were told there was still another puppy available. They couldn't get back to the "breeder" until the following weekend -- at which time there was no trace of any Maltese in the house, but amazingly there were Yorkie pups (but no sign of a Yorkie mother this time).

Unless you've been personal friends with a "breeder" for several years, or are able to do some serious research on the handful of serious breeders of a breed you want, and then pay to travel to get the puppy or have it shipped, because it won't be nearby, then you're just guessing when you decide a breeder is "reputable".