Meet the World’s Most Expensive Dog
Isn’t it amazing that on the one hand, we have people engaging in the dog meat trade, yet on the other hand, there are people who are willing to pay one million for a dog which they think will bring them good luck and prosperity. And all this is because a concept of its value was created and projected.
To me, all dogs are precious and equal. All animals deserve happiness and love, just like us. The best “luck” you will ever get from a dog is unconditional love, companionship and loyalty which sometimes surpasses humans. This interesting read also shows that even the super rich are afraid to lose out from their fortune and still need to show off their wealth. Lucky for the Tibetan mastiffs that they represent that status, otherwise I am sure they would end up on someone’s dinner table or on someone’s fur coat. Read on to see how much business tycoons would pay to get that extra bit of luck, prosperity and status…
Tsem Rinpoche
The million-pound mutt: Red Tibetan Mastiff becomes world’s most expensive dog
By Daniel Bates
They say money can’t buy love – but £1million will get you man’s most expensive best friend. A red Tibetan mastiff has become the priciest dog in the world after being sold for 10 million Chinese yuan, or £945,000 or US$1.5m.
Big Splash, or Hong Dong in Chinese, was bought by a coal baron from the north of China .
And it’s lucky his new master is a multi-millionaire, because the hefty price tag doesn’t factor in Big Splash’s diet – enough chicken and beef to fill a growing 180lb dog, spiced up with Chinese delicacies such as sea cucumber and abalone.
His owner will need a big house too, as adult Tibetan Mastiffs have been known to weigh as much as 286lb, or more than 20 stone – the same as a sizeable rugby player. However, the typical weight for a fully grown Tibetan Mastiff is around 13 stone.
But according to breeder Lu Liang, Big Splash is a ‘perfect specimen’ and the extravagant price for the 11-month-old is completely justified. He said: ‘We have spent a lot of money raising this dog, and we have the salaries of plenty of staff to pay’ – adding that the new owner could charge almost £10,000 a time for Big Splash to breed with a female.
The high price paid for the dog is a sign that the red Tibetan mastiff has become a status symbol in China , replacing jewellery and cars as a way for the super-rich to show off their wealth. Not only is red considered a lucky colour, but Tibetan mastiffs are thought to be holy animals, blessing their owners’ health and security. Tibetans believe the dogs have the souls of monks and nuns who were not good enough to be reincarnated as humans or into Shambhala, the heavenly realm.
Owners of the breed have included Queen Victoria, King George IV and Genghis Khan – who supposedly took 30,000 of the dogs with his ar my in his bid to conquer Western Europe .
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| Ancient breed: The dog is a descendant of animals kept by nomadic Chinese tribes | |
These days there are only around 300 Tibetan mastiffs in the UK , and puppies sell for a more reasonable £850 to £1,000.
James Pally, a Tibetan mastiff breeder from Pantymwyn near Mold in Flintshire, North Wales, said: ‘They are very smart and they think for themselves and can sense danger very acutely. Tibetan mastiffs were originally used to guard the livestock and they are very good with other animals and they love children. I have six of them and if you don’t give them enough attention they sit in front of the TV.’
The title of most expensive dog in the world was previously held by a Tibetan mastiff called Red Lion, who was valued at £915,000 last year.
Extracted from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366517/Red-Tibetan-Mastiff-Most-expensive-dog-sold-nearly-1m.html
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The Tibetan mastiff is the most expensive dog in the world. The ancient Tibetan Mastiff is the guardian dog supreme. These densely coated giants are mellow . This rare ancient canine that looks like a lion is the most expensive dog in the world. The Tibetan mastiff is known for its long, golden coats and flowing lion-like mane. The Tibetan mastiff originated as a herding and guarding dog for the nomads of Tibet and as a watchdog in Tibetan monasteries. This still-primitive Tibetan Mastiff dog breed was developed centuries ago in Tibet. Originally used as guard dogs for livestock and property in some area . Yet some are for attracting tourist to take pictures and a small sum of paid. With this way the locals could earn some income. While I was at Tibet I saw these amazing rare ancient Mastiff.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
That’s a hefty price tag and OMB!
No doubt that the life of a Tibetan Mastiff (or just any other dogs) is definitely more valuable that any jewelleries or handbags but it’s just too much. We can actually put that sum of money to good use. It’s good to love and care for a dog (or any animals) but in this case, it is for good luck and bringing back fortune? Isn’t “greed “ is the culprit here? #Foodforthought
As Rinpoche said, it’s amazing how on the one hand, you have people engaging in the dog meat trade and on the other hand, you have people paying millions for a dog. It just goes to show you, even the value on life can be imputed and subject to change…
…when at the end of the day, it’s ‘just’ ‘another’ mind taking on a body or form that is deemed more valuable than another form. Culture and religion truly bias our understanding and imputation of value.
Sad that a person can spend millions on one life, when the same millions could be spent setting up an animal sanctuary and saving millions of other lives.
In this case, even the cost of the dog (i.e. the life) is dictated by greed. The supplier is greedy for the money, and the buyer’s desire cues the supplier to decide how highly he can charge. The buyer’s greed for more money opens his mind to paying that much for the dog.
Then, you have to ask yourself, what karma did the dog have to take on this form that is valued, instead of the form of another dog that is not? Why is it some dogs are crushed by a rubbish truck without a second thought, will other dogs are loved, fed and taken care of with a lot of attention to detail? Both are dogs, but karma led one dog to experience a luxurious lifestyle and another to experience abuse. So for me, this post is also a reflection of karma.
He He, interesting…An acquaintance of ours was fish sitting a pair of fish (one weekend) that belonged to US movie star and they cost US$4000 each. That was some 40 years ago. And that weekend, she hardly had a wink of sleep, so frightened the fish will die on her watch!
This owner is very rich, willing paid USD1.5MIL to have this dog red Tibetan mastiff .I rather sponsor to KFR than purchase the world most expensive dog. May this owner can sponsor some money to help other animals too.
This owner is very rich, willing paid USD1.5MIL to have this dog red Tibetan mastiff . Every dog is same , honest and loyal to human , they are best friends for human. May this owner can sponsor some money to help other animals too.
It does fascinate me that someone would pay so much for one breed of dog over another, when essentially, all dogs should be regarded as equal – well, all beings should be regarded as equal at an ultimate level! On a more serious note though, it does sadden me that people would spend so much money to for a specific pedigree (for a reason as silly and mundane as “luck”) when there are so many other beautiful dogs that are unwanted and living in shelters.
The chase for these pedigrees encourages sales of animals in pet shops, which encourages the growth and maintenance of puppy mills – which in the long term creates so much more suffering all over the animal kingdom. And all that for the sake of “luck” or just as a status symbol, that someone can pay that much for a pet.
I am all for adopting dogs or cats from shelters now – they have wonderful personalities, just like any other dog, are hardy, tough and extremely loyal. What’s not to love in that?
honestly i do not know why this dog is the best. all dogs are beautiful to me and they are all equal, there is no such thing as a bad dog only a bad owner. i love dogs and i would never do anything to hurt them but this might be a little too far.
I don’t know why people would actually pay 1.5 Million dollars for a dog just because they believe that it will bring them good fortune. Why spend so much money on one dog while you can save so many people’s lives by sharing some of your money. Money can’t buy everything, one day you will still die and with all of that riches will be wasted if you don’t start giving. So please be generous and kind to all sentient beings. Thank you for reading
WOW, i never knew that a dog could be sold for such a high price. I hope the owner will take good care of his new and expensive dog. And i also think that it is amazing that this dog can weigh as much as a sizeable rugby player. Thats pretty heavy for a dog to be. Thank you for sharing this with us Rinpoche.
Tibetan dogs are huge and cool looking, if we want to be prosperous we should treat all beings animals and humans really well. That money paid for this dog could feed many other dogs. Well I guess it is the karma of this type of dog to live in a kind of luxury.
This blog is very different from the many blogs that Rinpoche put up on dog abuse and neglect. When I see this blog title, I thought about Karma – some dogs are born to be abused, while a few lucky ones are born and raised as stars.
USD 1.5 million is definitely not something that is affordable for the normal people. They will usually end up in ultra rich families because of first of all the buying price and secondly the continual maintenance fees that one needs to spend on these dogs.
And yes, branding does help a lot, in everything. Good branding can make something ordinary very special.
I just wish that those who can afford to buy these red Tibetan mastiffs will take very good care of them till their final days, because after having been put under luxurious care, this breed may find it difficult to survive under normal conditions.
It is really amazing that these days people are really willing to spend huge sum on the things they want. Not surprisingly the most expensive dog price tag could be broken and a new higher price will be paid for another dog.
A red Tibetan mastiff has become the priciest dog after being sold for 10 million chinese yuan, or stg945,000-, or US$1.5million, said to be bought by a coal baron from north China. Such spending is also said to be a status of symbol in China, replacing jewellery and cars for the super rich. Another similar example of the super rich showing their unconditional love for their pet as extracted under the kindness of Rinpoche’s blog come in the form of a far more extravagrant way how the super rich can really care for their pet animals. A german shepherd dog known as Gunther the IV became the World’s richest dog, when he actually received an inheritance from its father, Gunther III, another German Shepherd, which received an inheritance from its former ownner, Karlotta Liebenstein, a German Countess. It seemed Gunther IV has even bought a miami villa from Madonna. Thanks to its Trust Fund, he is worth US$372million right now! The saying that every dog can have its day, how true it can be according to karma.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing with us this post to remind us, once more, to what lengths we, humans, will go to protect our health and wealth and for our security.And all this is just to feed the mind’s projections of this red Tibetan Mastiff as the ‘protector’!On top of that it is also to boost one’s ego, as the dog is also a status symbol!
The astronomical sum of money spent on this dog would be better spent in feeding and taking care of all other dogs, especially strays, because they are equally important to us as fellow earthlings and also as our mother sentient beings.