SheltieTales

Could these two be more adorable?

Every couple of weeks, it seems, there’s another announcement of a dog auction generally in the midwest.  Hundreds of dogs are being auctioned.  They are being auctioned off for as little as $1.00 and as much as many thousands of dollars depending on the breed, age, and situation.  Below is the most recent announcement that was posted on our yahoo group for Sheltie Rescue groups. The link will still take you to the auction listing which lists every single dog that was auctioned that day.  Below is part of the discussion online among the Sheltie Rescue groups who hoped to see the two Sheltie puppies listed for auction – bought and brought into rescue.

“Another auction announcement with Shelties – Lots 33 and 34. Can someone
try to get them out of the auction?”
“Looking at the catalog, there are an amazing number of Yorkies on the list.
We should be glad that Shelties aren’t that popular. “
“There’s a dog auction in Cabool MO on Sat. Dec. 10, 2011. There
are 2 sheltie puppies listed in the catalog.”
Here’s the link to the catalog: http://www.auctionflex.com/showlots.ap?co=4902&weid=20786&weiid=0&archive=n&

The policy of the National Sheltie Rescue Network is never to pay to get a Sheltie and bring it into rescue because that will just encourage breeders to breed, put money in their pockets, and perpetuate the over-breeding and poor breeding of Shelties for sale in pet stores.  Many of the dogs that aren’t purchased at these auctions will be euthanized if they’re old and/or need medical attention.  Some are in good condition.  Some are in horrible condition.  Some have had some socialization.  Some are terrified to be anywhere outside of a small box or crate because that’s all they’ve known.

As you can see from this post, we don’t all agree.  With financial contributions from several supportive Sheltie Rescue groups around the U.S., someone famliar with these auctions and how to go and win these Shelties, was sent off to bid on them and win them.  And they were won!  Which is how they ended up in the arms of a rescue person riding home in a car — off to a new life as someone’s Sheltie-kid, in a home where they’ll learn love and companionship.  The effort is completely a behind the scenes effort because the folks involved are not interested in having a debate about whether they should or shouldn’t be doing this.  They’ve already decided.  It’s just a matter of logistics and getting the job done successfully without re-igniting the controversy.

Here is the email that came back to those of us supporting this effort explaining what happened and for how much:

I am emailing the people who said they would like to donate for the auction puppies. Our contact was able to get both of them! We don’t do much rescue from auction, but when we do, we usually won’t go much over $100. We have gotten some wonderful adults for as little as $25. At first, I was going to tell the bidder to go up to $150, but I changed it to $180. She wound up buying them for $200 each, but she said she would pay the extra. She wanted those puppies to get into rescue as bad as we did! I told her we would split the difference, so we are paying $190 each for them. It’s more than I would like to spend, but how can you not do it when you have a chance. They are both cute puppies. We have a foster mom that likes fostering puppies, so we will be keeping one here. The other is going to Dallas/Ft. Worth Sheltie Rescue because they responded first and we can move one to them fairly easy.

Thanks,

P.S. They are so cute. We drove and met someone yesterday to pick them up. One of my board members rode with me, and she held them the entire way back. They sure entertained us!

My feelings are that the dogs, the Shelties or other breeds, are already here.  They need someone’s help to get out of their situation.   I can’t turn my back and pretend that they don’t exist and don’t need help.  I’ve been told about a particular breed rescue group that paid some huge amount – $5,000.00 or more, to rescue one dog of their breed.  I was told that the people competing in this auction had come prepared to battle it out —- both the breed rescue people and the competing breeders who wanted to buy the dog at the auction.  I believe the rescue group prevailed but the monetary price was high.  Not knowing all the details surrounding this competition and how it came about, I’m not sure what to think about this.

The issues around buying Shelties or other breeds at puppy mill auctions are not as black and white as they may seem to be at first.  But it sure is a great feeling to see those two puppies riding home in someone’s arms – free of the situation that they were born into.   – Barbara