Must Read pages before you consider getting a dog

How Could You?: Hardhitting essay by Jim Willis (Author of Pieces of My Heart) bringing home the fact that a dog is "for life".
Choosing and Getting a Pet: Dogs are a big responsibility requiring time, patience, work and money. They need your care every day, no matter how busy you are. Make sure this is the right time in your life to adopt a dog before you start looking - and ask yourself the questions asked in this article.
Doggone Safety Tips for Owners: The 3 most important things dog owners can do for dog bite prevention. Includes photos teaching how to read a dog's body language. There also an important section The 2 Most Important Things to Teach Your Kids plus many other safety tips for owners and parents.

Top Choosing a Dog Sites

Getting A Dog FAQ: Very detailed List of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers on getting a Dog, and Breed and Breeder selection. Advice on where not to get a dog from.
A Dog for the Family: Advice on how to do your own research when getting a dog as a pet.
Selecting Safe Pets: A common mistake is bringing home a pet on an impulse without fully understanding the level of commitment involved. This page asks a series of serious questions to be asked beforehand.
Are You Nuts About Mutts: When it comes to dogs, the purebreds sure are the pricey ones. Mutts, on the other hand, you can basically get for free. They crowd the animal shelters, waiting to be adopted. Mutts are healthier, possibly less intense than purebreds, and often the better family pet. This article discusses mutts and has lots of links.
Adopting a Shelter Dog: This article is not intended as a "horror story" but just a caution not to get so caught up in saving just one life that you bypass the really good match for you.
Why dogs ara abandoned: There are many reasons why people abandon their dogs. Generally, it is not the dog's fault and often the decision to take a dog to an animal shelter is based not on emotion but on convenience. It is representative of a society lacking strong values--everything is disposable, including pets. People are encouraged to use excuses for their own behavior--it always is someone else's fault. In this case, it's the dog's fault.
Behavior problems frequently seen in rescue animals: Rescue animals pose many problems that are not always apparent to people adopting or rescuing them. Many of these problems may not surface for weeks, months, or, in some cases, years. This article discusses some of the behavior problems that often encountered when dealing with rescue animals.