Stock Handling & Animal Welfare

Hoover’s $35,200 price sets world record at Casterton auction

Terry Sim, June 16, 2021

Eulooka Hoover the $35,200 Kelpie sold at Casterton.

EDENHOPE livestock contractor David Lee has set a new world and Australian record price for a Kelpie dog when he was paid $35,200 for 26 month-old Eulooka Hoover at the Coprice Casterton Working Dog Auction on Sunday.

The sale also made David a dual Australian record holder: back in February this year he sold a Border Collie dog at the Jerilderie Working Dog Auction for $15,000, the nation’s highest auction price for the breed.

The auction also set a new world record for a Kelpie pup at auction, with Welshpool breeder Paul McPhail’s six month-old Beau making $9050.

The auction grossed $298,000 across the 51 lots on offer, with 39 lots selling, and 12 lots passing in, for a new record average of $7753. There were 122 online bidders and 38 were successful purchasers. The catalogue had just shy of 34,000 views and a total of 5,604 users connected to the auction throughout the sale

Hoover was bred by South Australian breeder and trialler Rob Macklin and bought by David as a four month-old pup. He was described by David as a great all-round dog with a natural feel for stock in paddock. He has worked sheep, cattle and goats. He is capable on sheep in yard and paddock, inside and outside a race, with a good bark on command.

“He has had lots of work on large mobs and is complete package with a cool personality,” David said.

“His personality is out of this world, he could always bring a smile to your face.”

Edenhope’s David and Sarah Lee with their children, Ivy and Tommy, and Hoover and Chief.

David’s wife Sarah also sold a dog in the Casterton auction, Chief, for $6100. Sarah said they have also generated two other prospective sales after the auction, to people who missed out on dogs on Sunday.

David and Sarah said they were expecting Hoover to gain the top price at Casterton, because not many people are prepared to sell their best dogs at auctions.

“So we knew he was pretty special and the amount of phone calls Dave had for him, we though he was going to go well.”

David said he and Sarah would re-invest the proceeds of the auction into setting up their dog and handler training facility at Edenhope.

Hoover destined to be the top dog again

Hoover was bought by a north-east Victorian sheep and cattle producer who did not wish to be identified in what was Casterton’s first fully online auction on the AuctionsPlus platform, due to COVID restrictions. The producer had recently lost his top dog and needed a replacement.

AuctionsPlus said Hoover is heading into a team of twelve dogs, working between sheep and cattle properties throughout New South Wales and Victoria.

“Having the auction open for seven days was extremely beneficial and allowed buyers the opportunity to see everything on offer,” Hoover’s new owner told AuctionsPlus.

Casterton Kelpie Association president Karen Stephens said organisers did not know how the online platform would work.

“But the results have simply been amazing with over 2800 online bids throughout the auction and 26,650 views of the catalogue in the two weeks leading up to auction day.”

Casterton Working Dog Auction chairman Rob Pilmore said a good dog is well worth every dollar given the amount of work it would do on an average day. He said the prices were not surprising given the value quality working dogs bring to day-to-day lives on the land.

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  1. Working Kelpie Council of Aust. Inc., June 16, 2021

    Working Kelpie Council members join together in congratulating David and Sarah, and expressing thanks for an excellent article.

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