HOLMES CO. The sun was shining in a clear blue sky over Holmes County farmland Saturday, a serene morning until the protesters arrived, honking the horns.

The protesters opposed the public Brewster Dog Auction held in a private yellow brick building on an Amish farm on Township Route 409. More than 30 had arrived by 9 a.m.. Thyey contend the event is a conduit to puppy mills. The auction featured more than 350 dogs for sale to the highest bidder.

Puppy mills are mass breeding operations that have little regard for the health of the animal and cleanliness of the facility. Some protesters carried signs with photographs depicting horrid conditions inside of some of the unnamed mills where they say dogs are bred multiple times.

One of the lead protesters, Kristina Lange of Cleveland, arrived carrying signs and two dogs she rescued from puppy mills. As she explained to media from as far away as Cleveland and Columbus that some puppy mill operators cut dogs' vocal cords to silence them, a large truck carrying several dog cages drove past her. An Amish man in the passenger side yelled, "Your signs suck."

His truck continued on to the yellow building where Lange and the other protesters were forbidden to enter. At the door, they were told that the law requires them to remain on the nearby public highway or at least 15 feet from the door.

One of the protesters said she and a friend had entered the building earlier without identifying themselves. They sneaked in with hidden digital cameras to photograph the inside of the building.

Vans and trucks carrying auction-goers continued to arrive. Some waved at the protesters, others sneered, as the protesters held high their signs, a few of which carried Bible verses. On one, Proverbs 10:2 - "Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death." The woman holding it shouted the verse as a passing auction-goer.

"I go back and forth between wanting to cry and wanting to beat the (expletive) out of somebody," Kiggins said, explaining her anger at puppy mill operators.

Harold Neuhart, who confirmed that he owns the auction, told The Repository earlier this week that media, cameras and cell phones with picture-taking capability were prohibited from the auction.

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