Dog House Hit by Meteorite Sells for More Than Meteorite

Roky's former shelter goes for $44K
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 24, 2022 12:04 PM CST

A dog house that was hit by a meteorite in 2019 was sold for $44,000 at an auction—well below Christie's high estimate of $300,000, but more than enough to get Roky, a German Shepherd in Costa Rica, a new home. "My first question when I was offered the dog shed for auction was: 'Was 'Roky okay?'" James Hyslop, head of the science and natural history department at Christie's, tells the BBC. "I'm pleased to report that other than now being 'sans' dog shed, he's doing just fine." The meteorite itself sold for $21,000, less than half what was paid for the wooden dog house, which has a prominent hole in its tin roof.

Hyslop says the dog house fetched more because things that have been hit by meteorites are a lot rarer than the space rocks themselves. "Objects hit by meteorites are extraordinarily rare (as an event it is astronomically unlikely). We are aware of only a handful of these objects in private hands," he tells CNN. Other lots at the "Deep Impact: Martian, Lunar, and other Rare Meteorites" sale included a bean-sized fragment of a meteorite that fell on a town in England last year, the BBC reports. The 1.7-gram fragment of the Winchcombe meteorite fetched $12,600—more than 100 times what the same weight of gold would cost. (More meteorite stories.)

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