Aussie dog Hoover just smashed the national record price for a working dog, selling for $35,200 at the Casterton working dog auction.
And my dad said $3000 was too much for a dog, pfft.
Certified “Good Boy”, Eulooka Hoover is a 2-year-old Kelpie raised in Edenhope, western Victoria by David and Sarah Lee – who sold him at the Casterton Kelpie Association’s Annual Working Dog Auction.
Selling for a whopping $35k, Hoover smashed the auction’s previous record of $22,200, and the national record (set at Jerilderie in 2019) of $25,000.
Round of applause to Hoover, please.
“He’s just so kind to his stock and just understands what’s going on,” said David Lee in an ABC interview.
“He’s just such a happy-go-lucky lad. He’ll go to work eight days a week if you let him.”
Karen Stephens, the president of the Casterton Kelpie Association in Victoria, said she believed a shortage of farmworkers had increased demand for working dogs, and she expected the high prices would continue.
“I think there is a lack of people willing to go out to properties and work so I see that the farming community is really looking for options there and the working kelpie is a really good option for farmers, and that has been evident in the prices we have been achieving this week,” said Stephens.
Barking Mad: A Victorian kelpie who holds the title of the world’s most expensive working dog barked with delight as he fetched the record price.
Hoover, from Edenhope near the SA border, sold to a grazier in Victoria’s northeast over the weekend for a staggering $35,200. pic.twitter.com/qz1FvpTMJM
— 10 News First Melbourne (@10NewsFirstMelb) June 14, 2021
The winning bid for Hoover was made by an anonymous sheep and cattle grazier in northeast Victoria.
The kelpie was described in the auction catalogue as the “complete package with a cool personality“.
Lee said he knew Hoover would sell well because of his attributes and demand in the industry for good working dogs.
“With the worker shortage and people not wanting to be on the farm, people are starting to recognise their worth.”
A kelpie puppy was also sold for a record price of $9,000, well above the previous record for a puppy sale.
Check out Hoover in action as he herds some cattle:
