World's Most Expensive Dog Worth $1.5 Million

BY ZHENG HWUANG CHIA

ANCHOR ALEX ROZIER

You're multisource world video news analysis from Newsy.

Can’t buy love. Can’t buy happiness. But you can buy a best friend- man’s best friend that is- for a cool $1.5 million. A multimillionaire coal baron in China just shelled that out for what is considered the long-reigning world’s most expensive dog - a red Tibetan Mastiff.

Anchor 1: “They are rarely found outside of Tibet giving them exclusivity that other breeds cannot match. But I mean, It almost looks like a cartoon.”

Anchor 2: “It is a beautiful dog. I like how it is so quaff or so to speak.”

Anchor 3: For 1.5 - “It had better do it’s own hair. No kidding.”
(Video: WXYZ)

That particular Tibetan Mastiff is 180 pounds and still growing. His dietary needs consist of chicken and beef - with delicacies like sea cucumber and abalone. According to The Telegraph...

“They are reportedly one of the oldest and fiercest breeds in the world. According to legend, both Genghis Khan and Budda had them...”

The Telegraph also quotes the breeder who sold the million-and-a-half-dollar pup, Big Splash.

“As a male dog, he can be hired out to other breeders for as much as 100,000 yuan a shot. [The seller] could recoup his money in just a couple of years.”

A writer for The Huffington Post asks the obvious question- is the big money spent on Big Splash justifiable?

“With so many dogs around the world lacking homes and being euthanized in shelters as a result, is it acceptable to place such a high price on a single dog? Or should certain breeds be preserved and considered more valuable than others?”
And NowPublic interviewed a veterinarian who says- the dog may be a status symbol, but it’s also a living creature.

“The obsession is unhealthy for the dogs themselves, which require more exercise and training than their status-conscious owners are willing to provide. Owners ...are unprepared or unwilling to properly exercise and care for the giant dogs.”

But according to a blogger for The Stir- the red Tibetan Mastiff is more than just a status symbol. Big Splash’s new millionaire owner is now one step closer to the afterlife.

“Tibetan Mastiffs are thought to be reincarnated nuns and monks, which makes Big Splash one big holy dog...When you look at it that way, the price isn't so ridiculous, really. How much is the health and security of your family worth? It's priceless, right?”

Big Splahs’s breeder called him quote “the perfect specimen”- but what do you think?


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Transcript by Newsy.

1. By: newsydotcom
2. Categories News & Events
3. Views 322
4. Added :18-Mar-11
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