Buying my first pair of road shoes! Please help

[tulip]

My first pair of cycling shoes were Sidis that I bought in the mid-1980s. They were over $100 then! And my mother's puppy soon made shreds of one of them. Not being able to replace them with Sidi's, I went with some Specialized, which worked well. Then at some point I got some Shimano mtn. bike shoes and wore them for a couple of decades (2 pair; the first pair lasted 10 years and I still have the second pair). They are great and affordable. Then I ran across some Sidis on sale, however, and I like them alot. But even on sale they are pricey. It took me almost 25 years to get justify another pair of Sidis. And there are no puppies this time around. My dog doesn't chew on shoes.