*grin* I always say this..
www.petfinder.org is a great place to find just about any age, color, sex boston you could possibly want. :-)

I'm allergic to dogs and Lucy does NOT bother my allergies at all, she sheds far less than other dogs her size :)

I honestly would recommend going through a rescue! petfinder is a great resource and there is probably a rescue in your area! you can find a young dog thats already potty trained :) :)
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breeders can provide you information... but so can many other resources! before getting a dog READ! read a LOT! get books on bostons, read websites, ask us as many questions as you can think of

i have read a lot on bostons. i had a phase were i read so much and i didn't get tired of it.

There are pros and cons to both ways. I have one I got from a breeder and one I rescued. I think the hardest part about recuing one is that after all they have been through there is NO WAY I could not make it work and this is harder when you already have one because you want them to like each other. I am amazed at how many unwanted Bostons there are :-( Since you will start with one dog I would recommend at least researching that method. I have always had dogs but only Bostons for the last 2.5 years. They are the best dogs ever...smart, friendly, minimal shedders and so much fun to watch (huge personalities)! Good Luck with whichever way you decide to go.

I agree with tini_smom. Make sure you do a lot of research on the breeder. I got a new puppy over the summer and as he keep getting bigger he looks less and less like a boston. His giant ears that don't stand up all the way are adorable though. But he has a tall long and lean body and the face of a pitbull. Not to mention he's up to 34 lbs (and he's skinny!) and still growing.

We love this puppy just the same. We don't breed or show so honestly all we look for is personality.

I recommend going to a rescue. There are so many more adult dogs that need loving homes. And usually there's only a small adoption fee whereas with breeders the price can be up in the $650 range.

Good luck and keep us updated if you do decide to get a bosty :)

i sure will keep you updated. thanks for the impute. :)

I recommend rescue or shelter pups all the way! There are SO MANY abandoned Bostons who really need a home. I wish people would STOP BREEDING for a year or two or ten or however long it takes to make up the difference. Seems like a giant waste to me to be popping out animals when there are thousands who have to be put to sleep everyday because of the abundance. Of the 6-8 million dogs and cats who are in shelters in the US, 3-4 million of those will be put to sleep before the end of the year. It breaks my heart. I wish I could adopt them all!

Best of luck in whatever you choose. Keep us updated!

i dont know exactly where in california you are located (north, south... somewhere in the middle?), but it seems its harder to adopt a boston here than most other places. rescues tend to snatch them up the minute they reach the shelter. which is great, cause it means they arent going to die there, but at the same time it doesnt give us a chance to adopt one straight out of the shelter.

for example, the boston buddies rescue is the one closest to me (so cal) and they are really picky about who can adopt from them. which can be a good thing, cause they dont want the dog to get dumped at the shelter again, but it can also eliminate a lot of really good homes that may not SEEM perfect on paper. they also never responded to any email i sent them (one email was asking a few questions about one of the dogs i wanted to adopt, one was asking if they wanted 6 40lb bags of ultra premium dog food that i wanted to donate, one was asking if they needed any collars, leashes or toys, and the last one was offering to help pick up dogs from the shelter for them, to take them to the vet, or even take them to the dog park. after that, i gave up.)

by no means am i saying you should not adopt from them, cause they are really great for taking in dogs that have health problems and need surgeries (which are over $4000 sometimes), but you will probably have to call them (since email is pointless... i have a bit of a phone phobia, so that was out for me), and make sure you know what you're getting into (as far as being bombarded with a ton of questions, having your house/apartment looked at by a stranger, etc). they will check up on you and the dog. they may show up randomly to make sure the living conditions are up to their standards, and if it isnt, you might have the dog taken away. just something to be prepared for.

SO, adoption is a good idea in theory, but you have to be really lucky to either be one of the homes that looks good on paper (and in person) or to snag one before the rescues get to it first.

if you want to avoid adopting from a rescue group and there arent any dogs in the shelter, go on craigslist and look up boston terriers in the pet section. i've seen a bunch available for adoption (from regular people that cant have the dog anymore for whatever reason) over the past year. i've seen a few puppy sales too (which is illegal on CL), but you want to avoid those because anyone who advertises puppies for sale in the newspaper or on craigslist is generally bad news.

if you buy a puppy from a breeder, you have to research the breeder really well and make sure they aren't just out for a buck. you want to find a breeder that does health testing on the parents so you can try to avoid expensive vet bills down the line. i always say its better to spend a lot on a good quality puppy, than to save a few dollars in the beginning and end up spending ten times more. here in CA (pretty much anywhere in the state) it usually costs 800-1500 for a boston puppy. even ones that havent been health tested!

google "what questions should i ask a breeder?" or something like that and it should turn up some websites with good lists. any ethical breeder will be more than happy to answer any question you ask. if you find a breeder and they refuse to answer a question, run away or hang up the phone. that just means they have something to hide and you want to avoid that like the plague. like rescues, some breeders will also do home checks and bombard you with questions. be prepared for that as well.

sorry that was so long. if you have any questions, feel free to ask me or this community or the woof board.

I have to agree with Tini_smom as well...there are many pros and cons to both roads. From my own personal experience, I got Brutus from a pet shop - I didn't even intend on doing so, being as how I was in there to get hamster food - but there he was, you could see his spine through his skin, and his ribs..it was just horrible. So I bought him. He was abused before - you can't hold anything resembling a stick (broom, mop, swifter) without him getting scared and running to hide in his kennel for hours. Personally, I think I would go with a breeder - while I understand that we need to get the bostons taken care of that are in shelters already, I would want to make sure Brutus is comfortable with a dog before I brought it home - if this option was available to me from a shelter, I would consider it, but still. I would like to go through the puppy experience again. Many might not agree with me, but that's fine. It is *my* situation. Yours might be different because you'll be getting your first dog. What I can tell you though, is to be picky and choosey as to who you go to - you want FULL information on the dog - where it was raised, how it grew up, are the parents on the premise (if going through a breeder), etc. And MAKE SURE it has it's shots - any breeder or shelter would be more then happy to answer your questions, because you're concerned about the dogs. If someone is snippy or pissy..well..maybe they don't want to answer the questions for a reason, you know?

Good luck. Check your local paper for bostie puppies - sometimes people just give the dogs away that way. Happy bostie hunting!

Check out the breeder carefully. I am looking at buying a Boston Terrier. I have done alot of research. I came across a breeder in my town that said she has purebred Bostons, something didnt seem right about her. I checked out her web page found out her is breeding a Boston Terrier and a Old Boston BullDogge calling them purebred Boston Terriers. So please becareful and make sure you can see both parents. I have a friend at work that is helping me look for a Boston Terrier puppy.