| I thought I'd share my experience attending a dog auction
yesterday. We've been to dozens now, so we're fairly "steeled" to the
whole affair - it's becoming increasingly comfortable for us to fit in
and not be dropping our jaws at what we see there. But it wasn't at
first.
My first auction, I learned you don't want to sit in the front row, at
eye level with the dogs, looking into their souls where the fear and
hopelessness has engulfed their every being. I believe they dream of a
better life, where they are warm, well-fed, and receive love from
mankind. Otherwise, wouldn't they be happy with what they've got? Yes,
these helpless creatures know there's something better out there that
they are missing. They are looking at you, wondering if you're the one
that will be able to release them from their prison sentence. And you're
looking at them, grimacing in the fact that you can't save them all. . .
. . . .
But let's start from the beginning. You arrive at the sale, greeted by
big signs telling you that no photos are allowed and you'll be
prosecuted to the fullest if caught taking pics/videoing the event. This
auction is one of the better ones - there's enough heat in the building
that you at least aren't shivering while you sit on the bleachers in
your winter coat. Yesterday morning's temp was 14 when we left home, and
it was 31 when we got in our van to leave. So that concrete floor in a
big metal building was cold under our feet, and the metal bleachers soon
started chilling us to the bone, kind of from the inside out. Before the
auctions start, you're allowed to preview the dogs, and they are kept in
a room behind the auction room. Wire cages stacked two high fill most of
this room, with pens to one side for the larger breeds. There is a pan
to catch the fecal matter on the stacked cages and cedar chips on the
floor. This room is a little warmer because of the body heat of all the
dogs and the people wandering each row, checking out the dogs they came
interested in. There's a 3x5 card with the breed name (just in case you
can't figure out what breed they are, I guess), along with their sale #
pinned to the crate. If you're lucky, the vet the auction house has
hired to come do a check on the dog's condition has also come thru, and
the vet comments are on another card. The breeds are kept together on
the same aisles, and they try to have them in numerical order so you can
follow the zerox copy catalog to locate the individual dog's
information. Some sit in the back corner, shaking in fear, trying to
ignore all that's going on around them. Some pace nervously back and
forth, barking and protesting. There's barking between the cages - some
males telling their neighbors they're too close to their partner, and
some of the big breeds are barking because of their nature to protect.
Some puppies flock to the front of the cages, happy to investigate all
the new excitement they're experiencing. If they're tiny - like chi's -
they may be cuddled together on a piece of rug or in their food bowl
trying to keep each other warm. If there's a female in heat, the breeder
will intentionally put the male in with her, hoping the staff will
witness a tie so they can proclaim the female to be bred, brining a
higher price. Some dogs have been freshly shaven, removing the filth and
years of neglect, but some are now covered in pink razor nicks. Some of
the smaller breeds have bows on top of their little heads, even though
their coats have never been brushed. I think they require the dog to
have had a bath, but the stench of years of living in feces or yeasty
skin from poor food still fills the air. I try not to look into any of
their eyes. You can stay a bit more disconnected if you don't look them
square in the face. Move to the next cage, then look back at the dog
you're interested in. I watch and listen if someone else is checking out
the dogs I'm there after, getting a feel for the competition. I listen
to comments, sometimes hearing one tell another that if they can get
that one, she'll foster it, giving me another friend in the crowd
without them even knowing it.
At auction time, the door to the dog room is locked so that dog's #s
can't be switched or dogs taken out without being paid for. Everyone
takes their place in the auction room. There's a snack bar being run by
a local group to raise money, I guess their need to raise funds
outweighs the thoughts of the business they're also helping. Children
wiggle and squirm, eating hot dogs and nacho chips and cheese, asking
for more money to buy something else. A grandma crocheting a baby
blanket - just a revolting thought to me that it will one day be on an
infant after being at a dog auction. You see all kinds, and most you'd
never know were in the dog business because they look like you, your
neighbor, or someone you might know. They don't have horns coming out of
their heads, they just look like hard working folks.
I have run into a regular atender rescue person in the dog room, and
she's known by all there to be in rescue. She's worked with these
breeders for years, and they know if they have a dog that doesn't sell,
they can ask her to help find a rescue to take that dog. She's told me
that she believes there's more rescue people at the auction than
breeders today. So I watch to see who comes up to talk to her, wanting
to try to assess if they're also rescue, as most that speak to her while
she's seated are rescue - the breeders approaching her after the auction
when the crowd is smaller. Some can be obvious - wearing their suburban
outfits with jewelry, designer purses, and manicures. Three women
together, comparing notes and looking tense. Two women who stopped at
the same fast food place as us before the auction to use the restroom
who didn't think about who might be listening to the conversation they
were having in the room with them. I have singled out a few, but with
the regular's comments, I know there must be more. A couple comes in
that we'd just met a few months before to surrender one of their breeder
dogs - their first encounter with a rescue group. They don't look our
way, thankfully, and we try to not display that we're rescue in any way.
But we feel there's a need to have some sort of a signal that the
breeders won't know - some way to assure that we're not bidding against
ourselves, because we don't want to waste $$ bidding against another
rescue - we should be united and in this working together.
The dogs that I was there after weren't in their cages before the door
was locked. I'm feeling defeated before the auction ever begins. Then,
the breeder arrives while some equipment is being sold, and I know the
game is now on for the battle to get the dogs we're there for.
Yes, it is a game between good and evil. We "train" for days before we
attend - restless nights of tossing and turning, worrying about what
will be. We call it dancing with the Devil. And to lose in this dancing
game means more Hell not for us, but for the dogs that lose their chance
at freedom.
The auctioneer takes his spot at the microphone above the "ring", an
area contained by a three foot fence with a large table in the middle.
Next to him is his bookkeeper, entering the bidder number/sold price on
a laptop, sending the doc to the ladies in the office area where you
check out and collect your paperwork/sales slip you'll need to pick up
the dogs at the check out door when you're ready to leave. He gives a
sharp whack with his gavel, rattles off the rules and any info he deems
pertinent in their effort to keep the dog business afloat, and then the
first dogs are carried into the ring, usually by high school students
he's hired to help for the day. Even the large breeds show their fear as
they enter this new place, noisy from the auctioneer's chatter and the
sharp whack of his gavel as he demands the bidders' attention or yells
SOLD! The dogs all shake in fear, trying to escape this unknown scene.
The smaller ones are placed on the table, a few at a time, and the
winning bidder takes their choice. The remaining are then started again
and again until all are sold off the table, or until no one will bid the
minimum $25. Those poor souls are taken back and brought out at the end,
giving the breeder time to determine if they'll take less than their
costs for putting the dog up for sale, which most do as it's cheaper
than them hauling the dog home and paying for a bullet or an injection.
As it gets within a few lot numbers of the dogs we're there for, the
adrenaline kicks in. I get the jitters inside and try not to let it show
on the outside. We're up - and it's all over within just a minute or
two, but not before the breeder stands up to add some more info not in
the catalog. She announces to everyone that the female was in heat and
she witnessed a tie last week. This info is like a knife in our backs,
as more people may bid, thinking they may be able to buy a bred female,
have the puppies, and sell the mom as soon as she's whelped, limiting
their costs for the puppies. But this one is bittersweet and a new
experience for us for another reason. Even though we started the bidding
and almost had the dogs - bidding against a breeder who has given their
final bid and the auctioneer is about to call the final sold, a rescue
person WHO KNOWS we're rescue jumps in and starts bidding against us!
I'm flabbergasted, looking over at who is giving a yes to the ringer. My
hubby gives a couple more bids, past the limit we've been given, not
wanting to give up and not realizing who is now bidding against him. I
give him a poke telling him we're done. The other rescue person takes
choice of the female on the table. I am in shock at what just happened.
And we start again for the male. I'm hopeful - no one is wanting to
start the dog, so the price starts low. It's us and the breeder we
fought for the female. They're hesitating - we're about to win the male!
And then what happens? The same rescue person jumps in and bids against
us. This time my hubby notices, and he looks at them with a what's up
motion. No eye contact back - they know it's all in the eyes. We stop
bidding. We won't spend extra money fighting with another rescue. But it
hurts - a different defeat we never thought we'd feel.
We'd heard this person had been asked to bid for a group from out east.
We'd heard this person was also going for another breed for that same
group. So we stayed and waited to see what happened. Two of the three
others were bought for the group - one female was again touted as bred
and went too high, even out of reach from the rescue with the deep
pockets.
I know some of you may not believe in attending auctions because you're
putting money in the miller's pockets. I've paid as little as $12.50 for
an AKC dog at auction. There were dogs yesterday that were "no sale"
their first time around and sold at the end for $5. While I don't
believe rescues should be paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars, but a
lot of these dogs went for $100 dollars or less. That's not putting much
in their pockets by the time they pay their fee to enter them and their
gas to get them there. We're always given a low limit to spend - we
don't want to encourage the comments like we heard as we left yesterday
between the bookkeeper and a miller - they were having a conversation
about the other breed that was bought by the regular rescue person for
the eastern group, and the comment my hubby overheard was they couldn't
believe that breed brought so much money as a few months ago you
couldn't give them away. I'm hoping this isn't encouraging either of
them to breed more so they can cash in.
I'm going to send another e-mail in a bit and list the breeds sold,
their ages/sex, and what they went for. This information may be an eye
opener. . . . . .
Before and after pictures below........
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