Designer Dogs..New Name for Mutt?

Maybe its been a while since i have been to a pet store but what is the designer dog craze all about??  People are paying over 1000 for any dog whose breed ends in Poo??  Who was the marketing genius behind this? Leave the pet store and go to your local shelter-you will see many of the same breeds there too-most given away once their cuteness wore off.  We have all read about the problem with shelter over crowding. I could get into the all the details of why a shelter dog is a good idea but most people have heard it so many times that it doesn't hit home anymore. You have to wonder if the local shelters advertised their dogs as designer dogs looking for a home, would people be fooled into thinking that they are a must have?  Remember those shelter dogs were once cute little puppies with a designer name too.