A Northumberland shepherdess is celebrating after one of her black-and-white collies broke the world record price for a working sheep dog at auction.
Emma Gray, of Fallowlees near Hawick, sold her two-and-a-half-year-old black and white bitch, Megan, at a Skipton auction mart to US buyer Brian D. Stamps for a record-breaking 18,000 guineas - £18,900.
In selling Megan, Ms Gray, who has represented England at the World Sheepdog Trials, broke her own record, which was set last year when she sold Brenna at the same mart last February for £14,700.
Mr Stamps will soon collect Megan and take her Oklahoma where she helps round up his Wagyu cattle on 2,000 acres of land.
Youtube videos of Ms Gray and Megan in action, filmed by her husband Ewan Irvine, were posted online ahead of the sale, catching the attention of the cattle farmer.
Following the sale, the shepherdess, the author of One Girl and Her Dogs, who became a celebrity in her own right on TV show Flockstars, said: “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.
“I had to ring the auction and just make sure it wasn’t a hoax and that I wasn’t dreaming.
“Afterwards I went to Marks and Spencer and bought Megan some chicken and let her sleep on my pillow.”
Megan is the offspring of top-performing trials dogs with a very impressive bloodline, said Ms Gray.
Her father is Roy, a two-time international sheepdog champion, and her mother is the sister of fellow champion Jock.
Bidding began at 3,000gns and quickly rose to the new world record price when Megan fell to the Oklahoma telephone bidder, who also owns an oil and gas company in his home state.
He said: “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 Facebook 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.”
Breeding from Megan is also on the agenda, including a visit to a proven work and trials dog with connections to twice World Sheep Dog Trials champion and three times International Sheepdog Society Supreme Champion, Welshman Aled Owen.
Ms Gray added: “Megan is the full package. She’s a really talented little dog and has all the best bloodlines in her.
“It’s really unusual for a dog like her to come on the market. Had circumstances been different I would never have sold her. But I already have two really, really good sheepdogs so I had to make the decision to sell her.”
