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The Obamas’ search for a family pet has been generating a fair amount of interest for the last few months. Well, it seems the wait has ended and the first pooch has finally taken his post, but not without controversy. The Obamas had indicated that they intended to rescue a dog, presumably from a shelter or breed rescue organization. But Bo, their new Portuguese Water Dog, is having his street cred challenged by those who don’t believe he fits the image of a true “rescue dog.” I won’t go into all the details (feel free to read this article for a full explanation of the debated intricacies), but what interested me was the wider debate about rescued dogs versus dogs bought from responsible breeders or dog sellers. When did adopting a rescue dog become the only politically correct choice? Why has purchasing a dog from a breeder become so stigmatized?

Certainly, there are many valid and compelling reasons to rescue a pet. Many of the dog pounds and animal shelters in this country are terribly overcrowded, and rescuing a dog helps ease this burden. If you are willing to put in the time and energy, you can find dogs of all sizes, breeds, and temperaments waiting to be matched with suitable owners. Many of the rescued dogs I’ve known have a sweetness and gentility that I’ve not seen in other dogs. In fact, my mom currently lives with a wonderful dachshund named Franny that was adopted from a breed rescue organization. Franny is the sweetest, most appreciative dog I’ve ever known, but she’s not without her issues.

You see, rescuing a dog is not for everyone. Adopters generally know little about their dog’s history and lineage. People looking for specific traits in their pet, like advanced herding skills or a natural ability to retrieve, might be better off purchasing from responsible breeder. Owners with special needs, like those with allergies, small children, or other pets, might also prefer a dog whose health and behavioral traits are more predictable. Furthermore, many rescued dogs need extra training to becoming socialized or housebroken. Franny, for example, is extremely timid and shy of strangers and has a habit of urinating whenever she’s approached by an unfamiliar person or taken to an unfamiliar environment. Fortunately, my mom has the time, patience, and inclination to put in the extra work that Franny requires.

Cornelius Q. Rockefeller III makes a great point: Where President Obama’s dog comes from is not really the issue. What is more important is “that he gets a dog that meets his needs, whether it’s a mutt or purebred.” However you and your dog find each other, what truly matters is the manner in which you care for it. Choosing a compatible dog for your family ensures that you and your pet can coexist peacefully and responsibly, and lessens the chance that the dog will end up needing to be rescued by someone else.

Where do you stand on the rescue vs. breeder debate? And what advice can you offer the Obamas for getting along with their new family member?

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I’m a pretty avid reader. I usually average about two or three books a month, mostly literary fiction peppered with the occasional biography or historical work. In line at the post office or riding on the subway, I’ve usually got my nosed buried in a book. And almost as much as reading, I love shopping for books. I can easily lose hours upon hours wandering used book stores and stalls for an interesting title. That being said, I’m pretty surprised by my current fascination with Amazon’s e-book reader, Kindle. It lives smack dab where nerdy bookworm intersects with gadget geek, and I’m finding it kind of irresistible.

When it was first released, I dismissed it outright. I usually read only one book at a time, so why do I need a whole library in my pocket? On top of that, I feel a physical attachment to my books. I figured that nothing could ever replace the experience of holding a tangible volume in my hands or looking at actual printed type on a page, so I never explored Kindle further. With the recent release of Kindle 2 and the subsequent uproar over its text-to-speech feature (which is a can of worms best saved for another blog), I revisited the device-and I’m more than a little intrigued.

The new design is sleeker and more refined than the clunky original, and the screen seems to accurately mimic the look of actual paper, even in bright sunlight. I like that downloadable books are generally less expensive than their physical counterparts, which is great if you are in the habit of buying new releases. More than anything else though, I love the fact that you can look up words on the fly. I wish I were disciplined enough to grab a dictionary every time I come across a word I don’t understand, but with Kindle it would always be right at my fingertips.

Of course, there are downsides. It would be nice if the screen supported color (book covers look so bland), and the device’s hefty price tag is a little hard to swallow. I’d really miss the feel of a dusty, weatherworn classic in my hand, but in exchange I would never have to deal with moving all those heavy boxes of books again. That sounds like a bargain to me.

The iPod and similar MP3 players have completely revolutionized the way we listen to and buy music. Do you think Kindle and other e-book readers will do the same for printed material?

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If you live in a big city like New York, you probably wake up knowing whether it has snowed or not. This isn’t because city dwellers have some acquired sixth sense regarding the mysteries of snowfall-it’s because every neighborhood has that one (or more) early bird who loves to loudly shovel his sidewalk at 6 a.m. It’s an altogether unwelcome harkening of snow’s arrival. Like fingernails on a chalkboard, that spine-tingling scrape can rattle you down to your fillings. If you are especially unlucky (as I am), your bedroom faces the street and that cacophonous sound reverberates through the dawn as if you were sleeping on the sidewalk.

As I lay in bed this morning, bemoaning that awful sound, I got to thinking: What would happen if no one shoveled their snow? Well, things would quickly turn into a great big dangerous mess-that much is certain.

Having grown up in sunny California, this whole snow shoveling thing is fairly new to me, and I wondered what Answers users had to say on the subject. Apparently, depending on where you live, there are specific laws holding homeowners and businesses responsible for keeping their public-access sidewalks free of snow. Many places, it seems, even require snow to be shoveled within 24 hours of a big storm. I found that many of you who rent apartments aren’t sure whether the onus is on yourself or your landlord to keep driveways and sidewalks snow-free. That, too, is dependent on each situation, but the best answer is to check your rental agreement or lease.

For those of you stuck with the painful task of shoveling, I found some great tips to help make the job a bit more bearable. For one, try to avoid lifting and throwing as much as possible-your back and shoulders will thank you for it. The best method seems to be starting in the middle and working your way out to the sides. If you find the snow sticking to the shovel, try using a little car wax, silicone lubricant, or cooking spray to keep things moving. Many of you find that using a snow blower (if you can afford it) is a heck of a lot easier (although no quieter!). Of course, if you are willing to throw a little money at the situation, there are always eager entrepreneurs ready to do your dirty work for you.

Fortunately for me, my landlord takes care of the shoveling. And now that I’ve read up on it, instead of whining about the noise, I guess I should be thankful that it’s not me out there at 6 a.m. making it.

What’s your experience with shoveling snow, and what tips can you share to make the chore more bearable (and less noisy)?

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In a few months, the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News will scale back their home delivery to three days a week so they can focus their operations on digital content. Although they are the first major metropolitan newspapers to undergo such a momentous shift, I suspect that many newspapers will soon follow their lead. This raises the questions: What will be lost by the shift to all-digital media? And what will be gained?

Before I get too carried away, I should point out that the papers will still be available daily on newsstands. But it’s hard not to see this as the beginning of the end of newspapers as we know them – that is, in paper form, published once a day, supported in part by paid subscriptions.

Printed news often carries more authority, while the rush to break news stories 24 hours a day online can lead to unreliable reporting and the spread of rumor as fact. Then again, the great promise of blogs and other online news sources is that they put journalism in the hands of everyday people, they offer news for audiences that might be too small or marginalized to receive the notice of major newspapers, and they provide an opportunity for readers to comment directly on them.

For further reading on the topic, I recommend consulting the great collection of links provided by Top Contributor W. C., as well as the many answers to idiomic’s question “Are newspapers obsolete?”

Whether the shift to all-digital news will fundamentally change how news is reported and consumed remains to be seen. But I can say that I will certainly miss starting my Sunday with a cup of coffee and The New York Times spread out in front of me.

What do you think will be gained or lost by the shift to all-digital news?

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I have a confession to make: I’m terrified of the dentist. I know that’s not a terribly original phobia, but it’s very real. It hasn’t always been this way-as a kid, I had no problem going in for regular checkups and the occasional dental procedure. In fact, I almost looked forward to the visit, knowing that I’d be coming home with some cool dental swag like a chintzy plastic toy, a new toothbrush, or those cool tablets that turn your teeth red, illuminating the spots where your brushing missed the mark. Even as a young adult, my dentist visits were frequent and stress-free-that is, until about seven years ago after my regular dentist sent me to an oral surgeon to have a tooth removed.

I, unfortunately, had a somewhat confusing and traumatic experience with this surgeon which has colored my impression of dentists ever since. The procedure required me to be under an anesthetic, and upon waking, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he had been much more aggressive and careless than was called for. I was obviously groggy from the anesthetic, but truly felt as though I had been brutalized or violated somehow.

After leaving his office, I broke down and cried uncontrollably in the elevator, which is fairly out-of-character for me. I tried to convince myself that it was simply an effect of the drugs and had imagined it, but the experience lingered over the next few days. I didn’t have any sort of concrete proof with which to confront the surgeon, but I did call my regular dentist to tell him of the experience. He confessed that two other patients had complained about this oral surgeon in recent weeks and they would no longer be referring patients to his practice. I followed up about a year later and learned that the surgeon was no longer practicing.

I realize that this was not a typical experience for most people and that the majority of dental practitioners operate with skill and integrity, but since then, I’ve shamelessly shirked my dental duties. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve only been to the dentist twice since moving to NYC, both for emergencies. I’m seriously overdue for a checkup and a teeth cleaning, but I’m having a hard time taking the next step.

Answers users: I need your help. How do you find a dentist that you trust? I know referral services like 1-800-DENTIST claim to help, but that seems about as reliable as throwing a dart at the phone book. And once I find a dentist, how do I get over the debilitating fear and anxiety of actually making an appointment?

What advice can you share with me and my ailing smile?

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