A working sheepdog bitch in the UK has sold for a record-breaking £14,700 at an auction in North Yorkshire.
Northumberland shepherdess and media star, 33-year-old Emma Gray, sold her two-year-old tri-coloured dog Brenna at Skipton Auction Mart in North Yorkshire on 22 February.
Emma, who farms on the remote National Trust-owned Fallowlees Farm in Morpeth, only narrowly failed to match the all-time world record price of £14,805, also established at Skipton in 2016, by Ireland's Padraig Doherty, of Ardagh Sheepdogs. This was for a male dog.
On sale day, several telephone bidders from the United States were fiercely competing in the hope of claiming Brenna.
Dr Pamela Helton, who farms in Maryland, made the last bid. Dr Helton also runs dogs in United States Border Collie Handlers Association (USBCHA) trials in the eastern and mid-western US.
“I already have many plans for Brenna. She is slated to be my farm and primary trial dog and I am strongly considering importing her in whelp (pregnant) to the US. A potential sire is under consideration,” said Dr Helton.
Already a multiple nursery trials winner with open points to her credit, Brenna has impeccable breeding credentials.
She is a daughter of legendary Welsh trialist Aled Owen’s Welsh National and International Supreme Champion, Llangwm Cap.
