The world record price for a working sheep dog at an official sale has been smashed - reaching a new high of 18,000gns (£18,900).
The sale took place at Skipton Auction Mart in North Yorkshire on Friday 21 February.
Northumberland shepherdess Emma Gray, 34, sold her two-and-a-half-year-old black and white bitch, Megan, to American telephone buyer, Brian D. Stamps.
She described the dog as a "stylish, positive worker who can get any work job done but can also be geared right down for trials."
Auctioneers CCM Auctions confirmed that the sale amounted to a 'world record price'.
Mr Stamps, a 44-year-old cattle farmer from Oklahoma, raises 100 percent full-blood Wagyu cattle on 2,000 acres in his home state.
He said of the sale: “I have followed the Skipton sale for several years as I used to run Border Collies here stateside. I figured it would be the best place available to secure a dog which would meet our needs.
"I did not know about Emma, but read posts she made about a FB group and this caught my attention when I had seen a video of the dog working and how she handled cattle.
“I used to trial 20 years ago, but do not have time to with our operations, though Megan is going to run some trials here and then retire on our ranch.”
Emma Gray said after the sale: “This is so much better than I have ever done. It’s good that people value sheep dogs these days. They are getting the recognition they deserve.”
The shepherdess has previous broken a world record. Last February, she sold her working sheepdog bitch for £14,700.
Her two-year-old tri-coloured dog Brenna at Skipton Auction Mart was sold to an American telephone bidder.
