Black, pink and baby-blue poodles rode in a tiny pink car and jumped from a ladder suspended in the air Wednesday evening.
It was just a small moment in the show of Cole Bros. Circus at The Oaks Mall, led by ringmaster Chris Connors.
The poodles arrived in an old-fashioned, hot-pink miniature car.
They leapt through rings, barrel-rolled and rode around on feather-covered scooters.
A white poodle leapt from a ladder into the safety of a purple blanket shortly before the poodles exited the tent walking on their hind legs in a conga line.
Performing to the tune of "Wipe Out," three giant elephants danced and skipped in a thundering fashion around the ring.
The crowd let out shouts of amazement as the elephants stood on only two feet and performed handstands.
While the display was pleasing to onlookers, protesters were outside the circus.
Animal Activists of Alachua, a student-run animal rights group, held signs that read "The Cruelest Show on Earth."
Kavita Rajasekhar, a 25-year-old UF medical student and member of the group, said the treatment of elephants in the circus is inhumane.
She said the elephants are trained by whipping them in their trunks and legs.
"It's not like they have this thick skin that doesn't hurt," Rajasekhar said.
Renee Storey, a spokesperson for the Cole Bros. Circus, said the tool that trainers use, called an ankus, serves the same purpose as a leash and collar for a dog.
"It is used as a guiding device," Storey said. "Not as a device for punishment."
While elephants and poodles garnered a significant amount of applause from the crowd, people came to showcase their talents as well.
The first event for the evening was the Steel Sphere of Danger featuring the ThunderDrome Riders.
The riders slowly trickled into the steel cage to showcase their abilities. The three daredevils revved their engines as they looped above and beside one another in the dome.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Connors said. "Whatever you do, don't shut your eyes and hold onto your seats."
The sphere unhinged into two halves as the riders rode above and below the void within the steel dome.
The Kim Brothers performed circus tricks atop moving horses in what Connors dubbed "equestrian artistry."
Connors introduced the "celestial stars of the flying trapeze," as a father and his four children entered the tent.
The Ponce Family Flyers soared through the air, performing flips and twists as they clung to the trapeze. The youngest, 10-year-old Victoria, flipped from the trapeze and into the clutches of her father's hands at the end of the family's performance.
An 11,000-pound cannon rolled into the tent as a finale for the evening. With a heart-shattering boom, a woman rocketed out of the cannon at 65 miles per hour.
"It was a little noisy," said Ben French, a 41-year-old Gainesville resident, with his 3-year-old daughter Madelyn.
"I liked the horses," Madelyn said.
