How Many Doodles Could You Buy With $582,000?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE DOG:

TODAY staff
updated 9:05 a.m. CT, Fri., Sept . 11, 2009
It sounds like a shaggy dog story, but it isn’t. A Tibetan Mastiff is believed to have broken the record as the world’s most expensive dog — sold to a young Chinese millionaire for a mind-blowing $582,000.

The owner, known only as Ms. Wang, traveled to Qinghai province of northwest China to purchase the 18-month old dog, named Yangtze River Number Two.

Yangtze came home to an A-List entrance at Xi’an airport in China’s Shaanxi province, where he was reportedly greeted by hordes of dog lovers and picked up on Wednesday by a motorcade of 30 black Mercedes-Benz cars.

“Gold has a price, but this Tibetan Mastiff doesn’t,” she was quoted as saying to Chinese publications.

Tibetan Mastiffs, a fairly rare breed, typically cost about $2,000 in the West, but are more expensive in China where they are valued for their skills as guard dogs.

Ms. Wang has plans to mate Yangtze with another Tibetan Mastiff that she owns, according to Chinese reports.

A family in Florida previously held the record, paying $155,000 for a Labrador named Lancelot Encore, cloned from their dead dog, Lancelot.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32797517/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/?gt1=43001

For once, I am speechless.

[April Cliber]

My daughter just read this and said we are breeding the wrong kind of dogs. :o)

[Leslie and Halas]

Wow! That's unbelievable. But it makes me feel less guilty about the money I spend on stuff for Halas. That dog probably gets his own limo and driver.

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

Looks like my Newfoumdland, Lance, that I had growing up!

[Kyoko]

I hope that she would not place $500K expectation on this dog.....He is just who is, doesn't matter if someone paid $500K or $500 for him.

[Debbie and Thomas]

The fact that China has one of the highest poverty rates in the world-millions upon million of severly poor people should make this woman think twice about spending this kind of money publicly for a dog. She may donate generously to this cause for all we know-but she probably shud have tried to keep this quiet. Some whacko may try to kidnap him for heavens sake.

[Nancy Sunderland]

At $2500 a piece, you'd be able to buy 232.8 doodles! Scratch that, I'm sure you could get a discount on at least one, so my final answer is 233!

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Money can buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail

[Adina P]

Well..that's it! I'm movin' to China to breed Tibetan Mastiffs ;-)

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Unbelievable!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The mind just boggles. It is so insane that I keep thinking it must be a joke, or a publicity stunt of some kind. Then my mind, as is often the case, goes off into Bizarro-land. I keep focusing on that number. I imagine the negotiating:
"I would like to buy this dog. I'll give you $580,000"
"Make it $582,000 and you've got yourself a deal."