Most people that are willing to pay that have a strong breed preference, and can afford the upkeep on an animal without having to hesitate in an emergency.
A strong breed preference usually means someone is familiar enough with the breed to not go into it blind. This means less chances of them ending up in rescues compared to your neighbor's litter from two mutts.
Yes, that's not everyone. Some people are idiots and think throwing money at a dog means that they don't have to put in any effort into that equation.
There are also shitty breeders and/or puppy mills.
But never shit on someone that payed for their dog and still have it. They did things right, and that's a shit ton better than the ones that don't care enough to do it even badly.
Random dogs are not going to fit everyone's family and home. Adoption is awesome, and in my entire life, I've only had one pet of any kind that wasn't either adopted, a stray, or from "excess" litters of smal animals like rats.
But a lot of the reason dogs end up in rescues is the people being idiots about it. They get dogs as toys and throw them away when inconvenient. This does not stop just because the dog is adopted. Since shelter dogs end up being rehomed a lot anyway, they also end up older and with behavioral problems that make them harder to forever home.
Back when I volunteered in such things, the ones that ended up put down the most were puppy mill dogs. I don't think that could have changed much since then, though it is possible.
Good breeders don't fuck around. They will not sell a pet dog without a guarantee they get fixed. They have their shots up to date, and usually have well documented health checks for generations. That is more likely to result in a permanent home for the dog than adopting.
I dunno, maybe you've never seen how bad it can get.
I'm confused, you say most of the dogs were from puppy mills but don't understand how I would want to get rid of puppy mills? I don't know where you live but where I am (Colorado) we have little dog shops at every corner. You can call them "breeders" or whatever but they are just "puppy mills" with a fresh coat of paint. It's fucked up seeing hundreds of dogs for sale at outrageous prices and know that millions of dogs are put down on the daily. We are better than that shit.
Also, I "volunteered" for a county animal shelter for about 80 hours in my youth. Trust me, I know all too well what our reality is and "how bad it can get".
There's a vast difference between a puppy mill and a breeder.
A breeder carefuly selects the mating options, gives wide recovery time between litters for each dam, selects out genetic medical issues, and for temperament as well as looks.
As an example, the breeder I got my baby from, damn near twenty years ago, did two litters of corgis a year. That's it. Each one was not only paid for, but there was an interview and contracts regarding not only that she be fixed, but that if anything came up, the breeder would be contacted first.
That's not a puppy mill.
A puppy mill breeds bitches as soon as possible, one after another. The litters are not given their shots, rarely get weaned fully, and may not even be given human contact at all during that time.
Now, there are breeders that don't go the extra mile that ours did. But if you're getting a dog from a breeder and the line is registered, they take at least the bare minimum effort to make sure their "house" stays in good order, otherwise, they can't have show dogs, which means they can't charge the 2k plus some breeds go for. Which is where this conversation started.
Now, are there idiots that don't bother to check the breeder? Yeah. They'll pony up the cash and assume that the price means that due diligence is done by the breeder. But they're idiots, and it doesn't matter where they get a dog from, they're idiots that will fuck things up.
With the amount of volunteer time you put in, you know that health and behavioral issues get dogs abandoned, often killed. Breeding done right prevents the first, and reduces the second.
And no breeder that's legitimate, that's selling dogs from a registered bloodline ia selling at some corner store. They just don't. Why would they? People come to them and sit on waiting lists, and come to their kennels to meet the "parents", because that's a very good way to ensure behavioral and health issues aren't common in the bloodline.
The kind of stores you're talking about are the problem. Well, idiots are the real problem, because buying a dog without doing your research is the nadir of brain power. But the stores can be legislated away by simply making anyone sellings dogs have documentation akin to what a good breeder would have; medical records, health exams, site inspections.
But buying from a reputable breeder? Nah. Those aren't the ones that idiots bring in because they can't be bothered to house train right. Those aren't the ones that get brought in because they're diarrhea machines.
And what really matters is that when people take a dog into their life, they do right by them. As bougie as it may seem, that's much more likely when someone jumps through the hoops to get a registered dog and pays through the nose for it.