Tibetan mastiff: world’s most expensive dog
Posted on 06. Aug, 2010 by Leon Kennedy in Other
One thing that has emerged from China’s relatively recent wealthy class is, of course, the desire for social status expressed via possessions; for one reason or another, alongside fancy houses, cars, watches, and other items ordinarily kept as cultural capital, we see dog ownership as one of the major status symbols in China right now.
And the type of dog that is the most expensive, and which possesses the largest portion of socioeconomic status for the owner, is (you guessed it!): the Tibetan mastiff. “In China, people think of the Tibetan Mastiff as a sacred animal … a blessing for health and safety,” said Wen Li, a spokesman for a website devoted to the dog. It would seem that it contemporary China, the concepts of sacredness, health, and safety translate into big dollars; it was reported that one woman in China payed a whopping $582,000 for her Tibetan mastiff.
In another case, a Chinese couple bought a Tibetan mastiff for $600,000, and used a fleet of Rolls Royce’s to bring the dog home; this event marks a triumph for the bourgeois class and spirit perhaps unseen even in the West. Meanwhile, millions toil in sweatshops for a few bucks a day. Mao would be proud.
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