"I told Pat Sanford, [then] head of the APS, that we were looking for a big dog with short hair," Dan Textoris recalls. "She said she had just the thing for us."

Mathilda, a Great Dane puppy, one of four at the shelter, was indeed perfect for the Textorises. When she died years later of cancer, the family discovered the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League and adopted Mia, age 5. Today, Roebuck, a 10-year-old Great Dane, lives with the couple at Carol Woods.

Textoris said purebred rescue organizations understand the breed they represent, whether miniature poodles or Labrador retrievers. "They really know how to evaluate the dogs, so when you adopt one, it is really ideal for your home," he said.

People are often surprised to learn they can find purebred dogs in shelters and through purebred rescue groups. Jess Allison, the manager of the Orange County Animal Shelter, said the shelter works with an extensive network of rescue groups, for purebreds and mixed breeds.

"We call them placement partners as we feel like we work in partnership," Allison said.

Purebreds may remain at the shelter if there is room and they're doing well. But some dogs have difficulty making the transition. "So sometimes we will call rescue groups for these dogs who can work with their specific behaviors, like a border collie with high energy," Allison said.

If you're looking for a purebred dog, check the local shelter.

"This is often where the purebred dogs come first. This is the place that the rescues often get their dogs," Allison said. She recommended two Web sites that list dogs in shelters and rescues, petfinder.com and petharbor.com.

Patricia Nichols is involved with English Springer Rescue America, Brittany Rescue, American Brittany Rescue and National Brittany Rescue. Her English springer spaniel Luke was found by Animal Control in rural Orange County in 2003 and brought to the shelter with several other dogs. All but one, who was adopted from the shelter, entered English Springer Rescue America.

Springer Rescue of the Carolinas placed 75 dogs in North Carolina last year, Nichols said. When a shelter calls, whether from Orange or Buncombe, volunteers with the rescue go get the dog, drive it to a foster home and evaluate it. Nichols recommended Googling a breed you're interested in and clicking links to local rescues for that breed.

"The most important thing is to foster if you are not sure," Nichols said. "Do you like the breed? We need homes between the shelter and the permanent home. Foster homes are the backbone of rescue."

This past August, Amanda Sheets, a staff member at Paws4Ever, and her boyfriend, Terry King, started a pit bull rescue, Carolina Care Bullies.

"People who want a pit bull often want to buy one from a backyard breeder," she said. "They don't realize these dogs are already in shelters."

In addition to rescue work, Sheets is trying to educate people about how wonderful older dogs are and why backyard breeding is a bad idea.

Rescue dogs are temperament tested and evaluated by a behaviorist. "We don't want to adopt out a dog that is going to be obviously human aggressive," Sheets said. "We go to community events to show how great and friendly they are.

Sheets averages about two e-mails a day about pit bulls that someone has found or that are in shelters and running out of time, as well as "a slew of e-mails" seeking a home for mother pit bulls and their puppies. Carolina Care Bullies will hold an adoption event at Phydeaux, 400-A1 S. Elliott Road in Chapel Hill on Sunday, Nov. 29, from 1 to 4 p.m.