I was horrified to hear that a dog has changed hands for the price of £350,000. Unbelievably, that is what someone from China was willing to pay for a Tibetan mastiff that actually came from Tibet. Now I don’t know whether or not the dog was gold plated, or for that matter solid gold, he was certainly a big dog but there are a number of things that have to cause alarm about such transactions. Firstly and most importantly, how can a dog save enough money to buy his freedom when that’s the sort of price being put on his head? After that you get all the thoughts about not being able to get him covered by pet insurance and never wanting to leave him tied to a railing outside a shop in case someone steals him, but let’s think more basically. If your dog costs that much in the first place, what sort of kennel and dog bed do you have to buy him to feel you have done him justice and how much money would you feel justified in asking for any puppies he sired?
Now I realise there is a whole scale of value from original Tibetan Mastiff down to local stray dog, procreating without a moment’s hesitation, but the Tibetan Mastiff still only has four legs and probably isn’t any more likely to sit when told. Isn’t there also a bit of a worry about some parts of the far-east that eat dog? That would be an awfully expensive meal and whilst I would discourage anyone from eating my fellow dogs, what type of wine could possibly go with a dog that was that expensive?