'Brook Hill dog' tin sets sales record

An original Alexander Pope 1911 lithograph-printed tin of the "Brook Hill" dog sold online today at auction for $5,150.

"It set the record for the highest paid for this piece," said Jess Sturtevant, of Braden River Antiques, who sold the tin on behalf of Lakewood Ranch resident Maureen Flaherty. 

Flaherty paid about $43 for the tin at Goodwill Manasota's new Ranch Lake Plaza location. She celebrated the sale with friends and dogs she'd fostered in the patio area of the Polo Grill and Bar restaurant, on Lakewood Ranch Main Street, as the auction clock winded down. 

"I'm so excited," Flaherty said, as she held one of her foster pups, Sydney, who was adopted by White Rose Interiors' owner Lynda Nixon. "I can't believe it."

Following the sale's conclusion, Flaherty immediately wrote a check for $2,575 to Safe Haven Animal Rescue, an organization for which she fosters puppies.

Flaherty will use the other half of proceeds to pay for design and editing of her new book on fostering animals. She said she planned to make donations to the Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch and Nate's Honor Animal Rescue, as well, if the auction raised more than $4,000.