Rescue groups attend an auction, over 100 dogs get out of the breeding business and into homes
The mission of Best Friends Animal Society is to work at solving America’s homeless pet problem. To this end, we have identified four key factors that contribute to the millions of pets being euthanized in shelters. One of those factors is the mass breeding of pets. While 3-4 million animals die in shelters each year because no one adopts them, we feel it is inappropriate to breed more, especially when done on a large scale. This is the first in a series of stories that will bring to light some of the issues surrounding large-scale suppliers of purebred and “designer” dogs.Last weekend, two groups of rescuers loaded up two vans with as many crates as possible and headed East, from Colorado and Utah, to the heart of dog breeding country. An auction house in Southwest Missouri was scheduled to hold its first sale of the year, with over 600 dogs to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, and the rescuers planned to make sure that it wouldn’t be just breeders present—they’d be there too.
One may ask why animal welfare groups are attending dog auctions when there are plenty of homeless animals to go around. Good question. But there’s a surprising phenomenon happening in the commercial dog breeding (a.k.a. puppy mill) industry these days. While some dogs sell for hundreds, even thousands of dollars at auction, some stand there on the table while the auctioneer entices the crowd to start the bid, and no one does. It happens to puppies “too old” for pet stores (any puppy over eight weeks is past his or her prime), and dogs nearing the end of their breeding lives at five to six years old. When the auctioneer shouts “will anyone take this dog for a ten dollar bill?” (enough to cover the consignment fee), rescuers want to be there to hold up their bid card and get that dog out.
And so, as abhorrent as the idea is of traveling cross country to watch 600 dogs being treated solely as money-making machines, last weekend two groups,
Mill Dog Rescue Network (MDRN) of Colorado Springs and
Wasatch Animal Rescue of Salt Lake City made the trip so they could be there as a safety net for the dogs that breeders didn’t want. Like the five-month old Welsh Corgi puppies that MDRN bought at an auction last year. For a quarter.
Auction, Day One
The way an auction works is that breeders choose dogs that they no longer want, whether they’re selling out of a particular breed, or have too many of a certain type, or have decided to go out of the dog breeding business all together. This
auction catalogue was filled with one breeder’s entire stock, plus hundreds of consigned dogs from twenty-eight other breeders. By nine o’clock on the first day of the sale, rescuers from the two groups were walking through the auction house’s holding facility to look at the dogs that would be crossing the auction block that day.
Hundreds of small-breed dogs sat in black wire cages stacked two high, while dozens of large breeds filled three rows of cement and chain link runs. Some dogs bounced around their cages, yapping at one another and the people walking by. Others huddled together, shivering while people stared at them and marked their auction catalogue with notes.
The designated bidders from each rescue group made careful notes, marking the dogs that looked the most pathetic. The catalogue description for two female Boston terriers, numbers 43 and 44 in the catalogue read, “APRI Reg[istered]. Color: Black & White – She is an excellent mother. Has a weakness for vaginal prolapse. Breed Sellout!” Number 43 had large “udders” hanging down, filled with milk for puppies that were nowhere to be seen. The Utah volunteer made marks next to 42 and 43 in the catalogue; these were two dogs that she felt should not continue to be bred if their reproductive parts were prone to falling out of their bodies. And then she kept moving, not wanting to get attached to any one dog in case she couldn’t get him or her. That’s the thing about dogs at an auction—just like animals in shelters; you can’t save them all.
Let the Bidding BeginThe sale began with kennel equipment; from wire stack cages to carpet squares, bowls and medications—everything a breeder needs to run a commercial kennel. The auctioneers worked as a team, with one man calling out to the audience and two more watching the crowd and shouting when a bid was placed. By ten o’clock the building was full to standing room only, smelling like an ashtray as bidders and auctioneers lit up cigarette after cigarette.
And then the Lhasa Apsos were brought out.
Pre-teen kids walked from the holding area, each carrying a long-haired dog and placing her on the table. The auctioneer took a moment to talk up the dogs, stating that these are the best quality Lhasas out there, that their quality speaks for itself. The catalogue read: “All of seller #1 Lhasa’s is show prospects!” Twenty minutes later, sixteen Lhasa Apsos and $2,165 had changed hands. Three were pulled from the sale when the bids only reached $410 for “champion sired” puppies. The seller wouldn’t take less than $500, and the dogs were whisked back to the holding area.
And the day went on like this until all 287 dogs scheduled for that day had been put up for sale. A few (two Boston terriers, a Dachshund, a Shar Pei mix) sold for as little as twenty five dollars, while the top-grossing dog was a Norwich Terrier sold for $1,500. The Wasatch Animal Rescue bidder got the two Boston terriers on her list for $95—about the same amount the group pays to get dogs out of shelters.
“The Money’s On”It was apparent from early on that the name of the game at dog auctions is one thing: money. All one has to do is listen to the auctioneers’ sales pitches to entice breeders to bid. Throughout the two-day sale, the auctioneers shouted things like:
“She’s ready to go home and go to work for you”
“The Easter market is just as good as Christmas”
“These are ’07 models—they’ve got their whole lives in front of ‘em”
“She’s in season; we’ve got dogs in season on the table”
“Hold her up, let ‘em see her belly”
“This one’s bred to a poodle”
“These go for $1,500 to $2,000 on the internet”
“Poodles will breed up to thirteen, fourteen years and do a good job”
“She’s coming into season now; bring her home and breed her tomorrow”
Auctioneers disclosed that certain dogs had c-section scars, missing teeth, a “cloudy” eye, but none of these things stopped breeders from buying them. In fact, a dog’s maladies didn’t seem to matter as much as how soon she might have puppies next. When a group of dogs was placed on the table and a breeder won the bid, often they’d ask, “Which one did you say is showin’ a belly? I’ll take that one.”
The Back Door: Breeder “Dump Dogs”As the auction progressed and dogs fetched prices much higher than the two rescue groups anticipated, other life-saving deals were taking place. While some unwanted dogs are sent to auction to squeeze a bit of money out of them, others never make it there. These are what some call “breeder dump dogs.” While the bidding continued inside the auction house, vans were pulling up behind the building with dogs who weren’t part of the sale that day.
Even stranger than the phenomenon of dogs selling for next to nothing at auction are the dogs that breeders don’t want anymore and don’t bother to try and sell. One “insider” takes those calls and networks with rescue groups throughout the country to find placement for dogs that are “too old” to sell as puppies, or are unable to breed anymore. Last year, this anonymous insider placed over 3,500 breeder “dump” dogs in rescue. Last weekend, she helped fill the Utah and Colorado vans with over 100 dogs that breeders from around Missouri had contacted her about with one message: “Get rid of them.”
Healthy, ten-week old Chihuahuas were loaded into a crate in the Utah van next to Schnauzer, Shih Tzu, and Dachshund puppies. Their breeder had dogs for sale in the auction, and got a tip that if she had unwanted dogs, she could drop them off at the vans out back. Three gorgeous, young, goofy Bassett Hounds were piled in, then two ancient Shelties, two ten-year old Beagles, and a young, terrified Cockapoo and Shih Tzu. Colorado’s van had Pugs, mini Australian Shepherds, Yorkies, Boston Terriers, Bichons, more Beagles and Shelties, some dropped off that day and some gathered for rescues the previous day.
What was heart breaking was that these dogs—some of them puppies, some who had been used for nearly a decade by their owner, were viewed as completely worthless. It just doesn’t make sense to people who see value in all living creatures, and not the kind of value associated with dollar signs.
But what was wonderful about the dogs loaded into the two vans is that instead of being euthanized or otherwise disposed of, their owners (however uncaring they may have been) gave them to people who will spay or neuter them and place them in loving, appropriate, forever
homes instead of breeding kennels.
The Road HomeWhen the auction finished, over 600 dogs were sold from one breeding kennel to another, relegated to more years of sitting in a cage, day in and day out to make puppies. To those who see dogs as pets, companions and family members, this is very sad. But over 100 dogs, a few from the auction and dozens of “breeder dumps” were tucked in their travel kennels, speeding West in vans headed for Utah and Colorado to begin their real lives, in homes.
Coming Soon-Meet the breeders who sold dogs at the auction (they may be selling dogs at a store near you)
-Meet the dogs from the auction and the “breeder dump” dogs. Learn how you can help them
-Dog auctions: AKC, USDA, veterinarian approved and attended
Dog Auctions: What You Can DoAuctions are an upshot of the multi-million dollar pet trade in America, and while the demand for purebred and “designer” puppies remains high, people in the industry will rise to meet that demand. Better laws can help regulate the industry and make small steps toward better conditions for breeding animals, but ultimately, people need to know the truth about where pet store and Internet puppies come from, and to be given better alternatives for adding a new pet to the family. Here is what you can do to help.
1.) Never, ever buy a puppy or other animal from a pet store or over the Internet
2.) Wonderful, healthy, adoptable dogs, cats, birds and small animals are waiting for homes in every shelter in the country. In fact, 25% of the dogs found in shelters are purebreds. Visit your local shelter or rescue group when looking for a new pet, or search for adoptable pets online at
www.petfinder.com.
3.) Don’t support businesses that fuel the pet trade industry. If you care about the issue, shop only in stores that don’t sell live animals. Be sure to tell the manager of the store why they re losing your business
4.) Support legislation that regulates and reduces breeding of animals. Several websites are available to help people stay updated on legislation for all animal issues, including breeding:
-
www.animallaw.com-
www.aldf.org-
www.saplonline.org5.) Join the Best Friends Network and visit the
Resources section of this community for more information and ways to get involved.
6) Be an advocate in your community. Tell your friends, families, and coworkers the truth about the pet trade and encourage them to explore other options.
Posted by the Best Friends Network Team