Record bid sees more than $70,000 raised for Telethon at Royal Show kelpie auction

A record-breaking $50,000 bid for a kelpie puppy at the Perth Royal Show on Friday raised invaluable funds for Telethon and helped keep a much-loved pup with 2023 Telethon star Emily Houston.

The huge sum paid for the kelpie Brutus brought the total raised at the Kelpies for Kids auction to $70,500.

In a heart-warming turn, an Alcoa representative made the $50,000 bid in an exciting auction with the intention of letting Brutus remain in Harvey, where he could be close to Emily, who regularly visited him while he was being trained.

Friday’s bid is believed to be a record for a kelpie, surpassing the previous Australian record of $49,000 set in October, 2022.

Emily, who picked out Brutus’ name, said she was excited he would get to stay in Harvey, near her home.

“It’s a really good feeling, I’m not going to be able to take him home, but he’s gonna stay with his trainer,” she said.

“That’s what I was trying to do, I was trying to buy him out of auction so that I could get him to his friend and trainer.”

The other dogs on auction were Pilbara Ruby ($5500), Pilbara Bob ($4000) and Breaking Gabby ($6500).

A further $4500 was raised through online donations to tip the total past $70,000.

The auction was organised by the Kelpies for Kids program, set up by Kate Willcocks a year ago, to raise awareness for children who had to travel away from their regional homes for treatment.

Ms Willcocks said she was struggling to find the words after a successful showing.

“I am absolutely ecstatically over the moon; it’s beyond our wildest dreams, and it’s phenomenal,” she said.

The pups were trained around Western Australia from the Pilbara to the South West.

One dog trainer was Tim Bending who trained both Bob and Gabby. He also bought back Bob as he was so impressed with his work ethic.

“I wanted him back so I bought him,” he said.

“It’s just the style of work that he does and in the couple of months that we’ve had him now we’ve bonded pretty well.

“He’ll be doing a mix of sheep and cattle work, mainly cattle work but once he gets older and finishes training on sheep and then work his way up.”

All four muster dogs were bred by Pilbara Working Dogs owner Aticia Grey and will be her last litter.

Ms Grey said she was happy to go out on a high.

“I’ve been breeding dogs for 10 years and this is my last litter, it’s a really nice story to go out on as well,” she said.

“I couldn’t ask for a better cause (Telethon) honestly, especially now being a new mum, it really hits home, so it’s lovely to be able to do something for them.”

Experienced auctioneer Tiny Holly oversaw the bidding, he said he was always happy to raise money for a worthy cause.

“It’s just an added bonus, I’ve raised $42 million for charity over the years and this is just another little blessing that I’ve got,” he said.

“I’ve got a gift from God, so I might as well use it. And that just rolls on and, yeah, it takes (its toll) ... but the main thing is the kids and the dogs got the recognition that they deserve.”