The auction was not as horrible as I had expected in some ways, and in others it was worse than I could have ever imagined. As we approached the auction site, I was terribly nervous. When my friends wanted to go in to the holding barn to make sure that their breed was indeed there to be auctioned, I declined to go in with them. I had gotten a glimpse of the crates stacked five or six high as the door was opened and a whiff of the stench, and that was enough to convince me that it wasn't the place where I wanted to start the day.

I looked into the eyes of anyone and everyone that would make eye contact with me. I tried so hard to read their souls, to see if indeed they were as evil as they should be when attending such a fiasco. I was amazed to see, for the most part, just plain folk. (No horns, no demons floating behind their eyes, just plain folk with a very different philosophy from me). Some people even had their pets with them, for crying out loud!!! What were they thinking? There were little Yorkies, Poodles and Chihuahuas tucked into people's coats. I just don't understand!!!!! I couldn't bring a pet, not one, to such a horrible place.

When our little Bichons came up for auction, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I was struggling to get a handle on my emotions. My friend quickly told me to watch the crowd for the SPR bidders, not to look at the pups. It was the only way that I could make it through this section. There they stood, our babies, at the mercy of these people. Some were shaved down to their skin, and some were very small, or pregnant, or scared. (They had young people handling the dogs, that day. The teens were extremely kind, gentle and loving to the dogs. I am sure that it isn't always that way, but this was one of the parts that really surprised me. )

The thing that upset me the most was the auctioneer and his helpers... I am still reeling from those people. They acted like they were so "above" the crowd. (So much better than the attending folks, so much more "knowledgeable".) Most of the crowd, bought into this attitude. Indeed they believed that these people were their "superiors". These, THESE auctioneers, out and out lied to the crowd. They were NOT subtle half truths, but rather BOLD BLATANT LIES!!!!!!!

Things like, "USE THESE BICHONS FOR YOUR POO MIXES! PEOPLE WON'T KNOW!!! THEY JUST WANT THE CURLY HAIR!! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

A poodle was having trouble walking."She pulled a leg muscle the vet said. She's fine. Oh, wait, no, one of the kids in the back said that she had hurt her leg. Oh, look! She's okay. She's walking!"

If the dog wasn't bringing in enough money, he would say things like,"Oh, I think she's been running with a Shih Tzu male! She probably's bred now". Up the prices would go.

THEY ACTUALLY BELIEVED ALL OF THIS NONSENSE. I FOUND HIM TO BE TOTALLY INSULTING!!!!!

The cheapest King Charles Cavalier Female of the day was sold to....guess who!!!! HIS WIFE!!!!!!!! No other Charlies started as low as the one that she quickly purchased. HOW UNETHICAL!!! (No one in the crowd seemed to be upset about this at all....okay, there was at least one....ME!!!!!)

I could really get to crying, and be extremely emotional if I talked about the things that you have read in other observations. There were sad eyes, fearful faces, broken spirits, and all of this broke my heart. These are the things that you have read before, and the things that just lay heavy in my chest whenever I think about them. They are the memories that are beyond description, and the ones that will forever leave me even more tenderized toward our dear little rescues.

It was a very tough experience, but I WOULD DO IT AGAIN IN A HEART BEAT!!!! Why?? Because when you hold a little rescue next to you and cry into it's fur and he kisses away your tears, the pain becomes ALL WORTH WHILE!!!