Buy or adopt?

Where you get your pet is an important decision — and a big controversy.

People who bought their pets from a breeder said they got what they were looking for—but at a hefty price. These pet owners say they have experienced some backlash for getting a haute dog instead of one from a shelter.

While these custom canines fetch top dollar, shelter adoptions also are on the rise, according to Chicago-area shelter officials, who credit the attention from the large-scale pet rescue operation after Hurricane Katrina. Pet adoption recently commanded the spotlight when Ellen DeGeneres tearfully recounted on her talk show how a rescue group reclaimed the dog she adopted because DeGeneres gave the dog to her hairdresser.

Chicago dog and cat owners who adopt their pets from shelters say they are helping save animals' lives, though some of these owners say that the luck of the draw netted them an animal with undiscovered health or behavioral problems.