UPFRONT VIEW OF A PUPPY MILL AUCTION
A TRUE EXPERIENCE FROM ONE OF OUR OWN MEMBERS

Written by: ©Michelle P.

Recently I went to my first dog auction, in Missouri. Having read many personal accounts online of such events, I did feel like I was "prepared" for what I would see. Still, seeing it up close in person (and SMELLING it)... well, that really is a whole different matter. Every single thing I had read about (and been warned about) was true. But being there live and in person was much harder than I expected.

I arrived at the auction site at 9am. The auction was scheduled to begin at 10am, and I'd been taught that you needed to get there early to "view" the dogs, that after the auction actually starts no one is allowed in the dog area. There was not a huge amount of traffic in the small gravel lot when I arrived and I wondered if I was in the right place. This auction was held at a public fairgrounds, so it was NOT on the property of an actual puppy mill. It was a "consignment" sale, which means that all the dogs there were being sold for *various* breeders by an auction company. 65 breeds were on the list, for nearly 300 dogs total.

There were two metal "outbuildings", with all the dogs in one (the smaller one, which was about 30' x 40' in size) and the auction itself and tables, chairs, etc in the next-door building. Several vendors were set up selling dog "stuff" (mostly kennel or breeding stuff from what I could tell) in the back of the auction building. I had to wait in a line to sign in, which means giving your driver's license to the person at the table. That gal then gave me my "number" on a white slip of paper. Standing in line I just looked around and listened to the conversations.

The auctioneer, a middle-aged man wearing cowboy jeans/shirt/hat was telling a couple that sorry, "they could not get their dogs into the sale that day. That the catalog was already full, and although he appreciated them coming, he could not squeeze them in and get all the paperwork done in time". I later saw that couple in the parking lot with the back of their truck open (camper shell) with many small crates inside, and people stood around looking in. I could not tell what breed(s) those dogs were, but I got the feeling that some folks were buying dogs right there.

After getting my "number" and copy of the auction catalog, I went to the dog building. It was fairly well-lit since the doors were open (two large garage-type doors at each end, and regular doors on the sides) and it also had a few windows. But the smell immediately hit me like a ton of bricks. It wasn't like the dogs were standing knee-deep in feces right there - it was a smell that was just IN the dogs. If you have ever been to a puppy mill or auction, you know this smell. Also, just the sight of so MANY dogs crammed into a small space. There were aisles to walk through that were maybe 4' across, but it seemed very crowded. Dogs were everywhere and people were milling around, visiting and taking notes in their catalogs. (the catalog lists all the dogs that will be up for auction that day, by name/breed/age - what registries they were registered with - and listed the breeder name)

Some of the dogs were friendly and wagging tails, begging for attention or to be petted. Others seemed to be in a stupor, just "there" in body but not in spirit. Others, especially the tiny breeds, were almost manic, spinning and jumping and barking. Some were humping each other. I saw many dogs eating feces. The larger dogs were along the outside walls of two sides of the building. Some were just in plastic crates while others were in these home-made "pens" made of cut-up cattle or hog panels, and hooked together with wire or carabineers. They had enough room to stand up but that was about it. The smaller and medium dogs were all in elevated cages in the center of the room, in two big rows. Some of the cages were double-decker. All were made of wire, like chicken wire, so that the feces or urine fell straight through - either to a pan or to the building's concrete floor, which was covered in material like sawdust... like you'd see at an amusement park if someone throws up.

Of course there were feces everywhere and it was caked on some of the dogs' feet. I did not see, however, dogs absolutely covered in feces - as I understand does happen at some auctions or mills - so I gathered that, although HORRIBLE beyond belief, this was actually one of the "better" auctions. <sigh> Some of the dogs looked better than others. For example, most of the labs looked fairly chunky and normal, but the english bulldogs looked awful, with cloudy eyes and one female had the most huge sagging teats you can imagine, and had a big raw open sore on her chest. Many of the smaller dogs had tongues hanging out the sides of their mouth, indicating missing teeth.

I made my way around the room, carefully trying to jot down notes in my auction catalog without drawing any attention to myself. I had been told by my rescue contact that chances were, "they" would know I was an outsider just because they'd never seen me before. Still, I had tried to blend in by wearing nylon sweat pants, a t-shirt and sweatshirt... which was what most of the other folks looked like. I was surprised at how many children there were there, running around and playing, amidst this filth. This is NORMAL for them and they are growing up with the mindset that treating dogs this way is fine. Also there were quite a few "kindly grandmother-looking" types there... but I know full-well that they were NOT "kindly grandmothers," at least not to these poor dogs. They were wheeling and dealing their dogs along with the younger breeders. It was sickening.

I kept looking for the particular dog that I was going to try to "rescue". She was a large breed and the breed rescue group had told me they would pay up to "x" amount to save her, and further up to "y" amount if she was visibly pregnant. I couldn't find her in the room and feared that she wasn't there, that I'd come only to miss her. Finally I found her outside, in a livestock trailer that was partitioned off to carry dogs. Two boxers were in the trailer with her, blocked off with some plywood. This poor big girl looked so sweet and nuzzled my hands through the slats in the trailer. I could tell she'd had many puppies in her life but she seemed in OK physical shape overall. I promised to try and get her out of there and went back inside.

I talked to and petted as many dogs as I could, just telling them that I would try to help them and whispered a kind word or two. It was overwhelming though to see so many dogs clearly in need of care (and most especially, LOVE) Toenails were an inch long - the filthy dirty coats and stench - the cloudy eyes - the missing teeth. I went out to my vehicle to get some fresh air and a drink of water (I'd come prepared with my cooler so as to not give these people ONE CENT of my money at their "concession stand!" I called my husband to let him know I was there and fine (and not in jail... yet anyway, haha). People were still arriving, mostly in SUVs, trucks and minivans.

When the auction started, I had an aisle seat which gave me a good view of the front tables and where they would hold the dogs. The auctioneer made some opening comments and welcomed everyone, and told us that the AKC representative was "Jane Doe" and we could all ask her any questions if we needed. He introduced a Missouri Dept of Ag Inspector, but did not give his name. He just said that the man had come all the way from the "investigations" department to be there and "make sure things were right at the sale. The auction "vet" was also introduced.

The process was that one of the "workers" (seemed to all be teenage-ish boys in western gear; there were 5-6 of them) would bring a dog out from the dog room, either carrying them or by dragging them with their home-made leash - which was their belt they'd taken off their jeans. (There were certainly no collars or leashes in this place.) The dog was placed on the first table, off to the side of the podium, where the "vet" (and I use that term loosely) would feel them over, especially the males - to see if their testicles were dropped, etc. He looked in their mouths and eyes, and then the AKC woman would use her microchip scanner on them, to make sure the chip # matched what was on her record. They had a line of dogs going so this was going on continuously.

Then the dog was placed on the front table, in front of the group of probably 100+ people. The "handler" boy would hold some of the dogs up in the air part of the time, or hold them on the table. Most of the dogs seemed so bewildered that they didn't move, others with their feet scrambling to get purchase on the slick wooden table (dogs could not get a "grip". their feet were sliding and slipping and their legs often fell off the table), though a few wagged their tails and DID look at the audience.

Bidding would start in the hundreds, and if there were no takers, the auctioneer came down and down, until someone did bid. Some dogs wound up starting as low as $5 (some Beagles SOLD for $5 each) and others wound up actually FREE because there were no bids, and the "breeders" said they did not want to take the dogs home. The saddest dogs were those that had no bids and no "takers" even though they were offered for FREE. This broke my heart, but I only had so much room in my minivan. If I had brought a school bus (and the resources back here) I could have left there with 20 dogs easily, for $20-30 total or less total.

I tried to take careful notes, writing in the amounts the dogs sold for, as well as certain key phrases the auctioneer said about the dogs. "She's checkin' good" was a big phrase - I guess "checkin' good" means able to produce. For a male, that meant testicles descended and "there." It was revolting to hear the litany of comments... "missing a few teeth but she's a good producer", "this little guy loves his job!" etc etc. The absolute worst thing I think I heard was about a 3-legged Min Pin female. The auctioneer said, "She's missing her front right leg but her flesh is good." I wrote that down word for word to make sure I got it right. And also to have something to do with my hands to keep from rushing the table and attacking these monstrous people.

I did not wind up getting the large breed girl I went to see, as the bidding was too high. I will never forget the look on her face; I swear that she looked AT me from the table. Yes, they had two teenaged boys hoist this giant girl up onto the table for viewing. Afterwards, they drug her out of the room by her head.

I did bid on and won 5 other dogs however - one was a male purebred Collie for $10 (I was the only bidder), only 6 months old.

The highest price I heard while there was for a French Bulldog, which went for over a thousand dollars. Other high bids went for English Bulldogs, one female in the $600 range. Many of the small dogs went for $300 or more. But there were a lot of FREE dogs that were given to anyone who would take them. I shudder to think about their fates, or about the dogs who were not purchased at all, and had no bids.

The auctioneer had told us that 110 of the dogs were from a "pet store in southwest Missouri" - that's exactly how he phrased it. He said he could not tell us more, just that they were up for auction and supposedly "couldn't go back"... so what happened to THOSE dogs who had no bidders? I lose sleep over those babies every night.

By a miracle, none of the dogs I got were sick in the van on the way home. I had them in crates of course but they were quite good and I tried to talk to them while driving, explaining that their real lives were about to begin. Once back here, getting them OUT of the crates was an ordeal, as they were afraid and nervous to say the least. They had their first (of many) baths and I got them settled in with blankets and food. I didn't cry until I looked at my auction catalog later, and read in my notes, "no bidders", "offered for free, no bidders"...

My foster kids will be up for adoption once we have them fully vetted and give them some time for socialization and to learn to trust me and other humans. I know it will take some time, as they are coming from a life of being caged 24/7 without the benefit of a caring or kind touch. The Dane has splayed front toes from living on wire and has some trouble standing/walking; he prefers to crawl and roll around on the ground. The Collie is down on his pasterns, but I hope since they are still growing pups that we can overcome these obstacles with good nutrition and vet care. The "Doodle" mixes are incredibly afraid and will hardly let me even touch them. They may take the longest to re-hab and get ready for adoption. But they are safe and sound now. When advertising them with our rescue groups, it is my mission to educate and spread the word about the evils of puppy mills and commercial breeders. These kids certainly deserve it!

Critter Haven will continue to follow up on these 5 rescued dogs from this auction and will keep you up-to-date on their progress and adoptions, complete with pictures as the dogs develop into what we hope will be lovable, adoptable dogs. Thank you Michelle for sharing your experience with our members.

A  4-WEEK UPDATE .......................

It's been 4 weeks and 2 days since the auction dogs came home with me, starting a new life in the outside world!

The Collie and the Great Dane were examined and neutered right away by my fabulous vets. Both dogs were in "decent" health, but the Dane had a bacterial infection in his stool that required a course of antibiotics. He also had a mild yeast infection in both ears that required medicated ear-wash and ear drops. The Collie checked out pretty well, despite having some pretty severe weakness in his hind legs. Our vets feel like with good nutrition and exercise, he will get back on the right growth track, and that his problems from living caged-up and on wire, etc can be overcome. Both boys needed additional vaccinations to complete their "puppy series" of inoculations, and we took care of that.

Even better news for the Collie; he was soon transferred to a new foster home where he made himself comfortable right off the bat, running and playing with his new "dog sister" there. Within a couple days, he won over his foster mom and she decided to adopt him for good! She reports back to us that he is learning more and more every day and doing exceptionally well. In fact, he is becoming a Puppy Ambassador to help spread the word about the evils of puppy mills, and his mom has stocked her purse with Critter Haven educational brochures! A quiet, loving and patient home is just the right "medicine" for this fabulous dog.

The three Labradoodles are taking longer to adjust to their new life outside the walls of the puppy mill. Their first few days with us, they
were all so terrified that we had to either carry them outside to the yard (and then back in) or nearly drag them on leash. To touch them meant that they froze in place, not moving a muscle. Rigid and frightened, they seemed to just disappear within themselves. They would not look us in the eye, or even look at us at all for that matter. Day by day they have made slow progress, and to my absolute delight, last week one of the males licked me, and the female actually jumped up on me! What we might see as every day, normal (or even boring!) behavior from our own dogs, is incredibly noteworthy for these special babies! The second male Labradoodle is still very shy and withdrawn, but even he has made progress. Once outside, he runs and plays and frolics with his Labradoodle friends. I can see his personality starting to peak through his tough veneer.

The Labradoodles will be neutered/spayed soon and then up for adoption once we feel they can be out in public and meeting new friends. They are obviously very sensitive and sweet dogs, who were just forced to live in their own little "shut down" worlds for so long... It seems as if they had put up protective barriers to keep all humans out (and probably for good reason!) My heart aches for what they have gone through, but I know there is hope for them now, on the OTHER side of the puppy mill world.

Update on the Labradoodles:

The three "Doodles" were spayed/neutered last Thursday and are doing just fine. No heartworm (thank God) and overall in good health. Negative fecals (though I had already wormed them 2x here...) and everyone at the vet office thought they were precious. Will keep you posted on their progress - they are still too shy to be up for adoption but are doing better - and at least now are vetted and ready!

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