Fife’s spectacular Scotties By The Sea trail has been hailed an amazing success after smashing all expectations.
The 10-week art exhibition saw 30 Giant Scotties and 15 Wee Dugs unleashed around St Andrews and other coastal communities.
And it culminated in a frenzied bidding war when the sculptures went up for auction in aid of Maggie’s Dundee on Thursday.
BID St Andrews organised the event in the hope of raising £150,000 for the cancer charity.
But the pooches proved so popular, people shelled out more than £256,000.
BID chairwoman Louise Fraser said: “Bids were going crazy for some of the dogs.
“The highest was £11,000 for Highland Scottie, which was based at the Byre Courtyard during the trail.”
All the Scotties were snapped up by bidders
Other dogs weren’t far behind in the bidding stakes.
Copper Dog, which stood guard outside Lindores Abbey in Newburgh, went for £10,000.
And one undecorated Wee Dug was snapped up for a cool £5,600 – the price includes the option of an artist to paint it with a unique design.
“Looking at the list of prices, you wouldn’t know the difference between the smaller or bigger dogs,” Louise said.
“Most of them went for between £5,000 and £5,500.”
Louise was particularly pleased for the Levenmouth community, which launched a last-minute fundraising drive to buy Postcards From Fife.
It stood on Leven Promenade throughout the trail and locals were desperate to see it return.
“We were really rooting for them during the bidding,” Louise said.
“They had some stiff competition so we didn’t know if they’d manage it but we’re so pleased they did.”
Scotties By The Sea ensured ‘everybody was a winner’
BID St Andrews said Scotties By The Sea was a huge draw throughout its run.
Thousands of people followed the trail, created with the help of Wild In Art.
“Everybody was a winner,” said Louise.
“St Andrews is often seen as aloof to other local communities but we’ve built some wonderful bridges and it’s now a much more cohesive community.
“Maggie’s has obviously been a winner, as have all the wonderful people who bid – they’ve got some wonderful dogs to take home.
“I can’t see anything negative about it at all. It’s been super.”
Other winners include independent businesses operating near Scottie sites.
“We don’t have pounds, shillings and pence, but Lindores Abbey were saying they were getting families because of the dog outside,” Louise added.
‘Massive boost’ for Maggie’s Dundee
And she said: “It’s been hard, hard work but – oh my goodness – it’s been worth it.
“We knew it would be good for businesses and communities.
“But it’s brought so much more than we imagined and delivered way above and beyond what we expected.”
Annie Long, Maggie’s Dundee fundraising manager, said the auction had given the charity a massive boost.
“It will allow us to continue to help people in Tayside and north east Fife with cancer,” she said.
Conversation