At shelters, such as Angels for Animals, dogs wait to be adopted into loving families.
But that's not always the case at dog auctions, where purebreds are sold for as little as $1.
"They're mostly around Holmes County, and the problem is they're kept in very poor conditions," said Matt Ditchey, Angels for Animals trustee. "It's just not a good thing for the dogs."
Two years ago, people opposed to dog auctions tried to get a ban on the ballot. Last year, they only collected about 7,000 signatures. This year, they brought in 77,000, which is a lot, but not the 121,000 needed.
"We're doing it as an all-volunteer effort," Ditchey said. "We could have easily just paid people to do it, but we want to have people that are Ohioans and people who really believe in the cause that do the work."
Ditchey said he's confident Ohioans will see the issue on the ballot in 2012.
"We get very, very positive response from people. Most of the official holders in Mahoning County signed the petition, as did congressmen and the like," he said.
But not everyone agrees with the ban. The Ohio Association for Animal Owners wouldn't talk to us on camera, but they say such a ban would be an "attack on commerce" and that dog auctions are well-monitored. But Ditchey said that's simply not true.
"Well monitored? That's silly," Ditchey said. "That's not even remotely true. They're poorly monitored. If you took your news cameras down there and tried to get in, you'd be shown the door very quickly."
Dog auctions are already banned in some states, especially along the East Coast. They're most prevalent in the Midwest.
