$600K Tibetan Mastiff Catches Eyes in China

The newly wealthy and status-conscious upper class in China has discovered a new way to display their riches.

The Tibetan mastiff is the traditional guardian dog of the former mountain kingdom of Tibet, and considered to be a holy animal. That makes it a target for new Chinese millionaires eager to show off. Tibetan mastiffs are also relatively easy to train, and loyal pets. They can grow to three feet in height and weigh as much as 180 pounds easily. Pets have typically been a pricey possession in China, with a lengthy process to license a dog. An identification similar to that of humans is also required, with a photograph of the pooch.

Cai Li and his wife, hailing from Xi’an, spent 600,000 dollars to buy a purebred Tibetan mastiff named Yangtze River Number Two. They also rented a fleet of twenty Mercedes-Benzes to transport the dog. Li refuses to divulge exactly how he made his money, leading some to question his occupation. Li owns forty other mastiffs, keeping them in cages at his home. Li and other mastiff owners are receiving severe criticism for their ostentatious display of wealth, rather than finding an animal to be a family companion.

tibetan Mastiff fetched big bucks in China