--- ---  # Meet the '$2 Million' Dog  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 19, 2014 3:20 PM UTC  This picture taken on March 18, 2014 shows an unidentified man posing for a photo with two Tibetan mastiffs after they were sold at a 'luxury pet' fair in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. This picture taken on March 18, 2014 shows an unidentified man posing for a photo with two Tibetan mastiffs after they were sold at a 'luxury pet' fair in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province.STR / AFP / Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 19, 2014 3:20 PM UTC A property developer reportedly paid “12 million yuan ($1.9 million)” for a golden Tibetan mastiff puppy Tuesday, according to [AFP](http://news.yahoo.com/dog-sold-2-million-china-040642684.html) via the Qianjiang Evening News. The buyer, an aspiring dog breeder, [is said](http://news.yahoo.com/dog-sold-2-million-china-040642684.html) to have purchased the pup at a luxury pet expo in the eastern province of Zhejiang. The dog’s breeder Zhang Gengyun reportedly said another red mastiff sold for 6 million yuan (approximately $968,000). The dogs, known for their protective, loyal qualities, and “stranger danger” instincts, have been considered a status symbol for millionaires. [According to](http://news.yahoo.com/dog-sold-2-million-china-040642684.html) the AFP, one named “Red Splash” sold for 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) in 2011, and a [2010 _TODAY Show_](http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/08/06/tibetan-mastiffs-dogs-that-fetch-600000-in-china/) segment said one named “Yangtze River Number Two” sold for $600,000 and was escorted home by a fleet of Mercedes sedans. 2 Million Tibetan Mastiff China ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/30231/meet-the-2-million-dog/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/30231/meet-the-2-million-dog/"},"headline":"Meet the '$2 Million' Dog","datePublished":"2014-03-19T15:20:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:07:56.398Z","description":"It's pretttty cute","url":"https://time.com/30231/meet-the-2-million-dog/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd9bb2a7fa433216/698686201eebf7c8e336fe7f/mastiff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd9bb2a7fa433216/698686201eebf7c8e336fe7f/mastiff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"mastiff","caption":"This picture taken on March 18, 2014 shows an unidentified man posing for a photo with two Tibetan mastiffs after they were sold at a 'luxury pet' fair in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province.","creditText":"STR / AFP / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/30231/meet-the-2-million-dog/","name":"Meet the '$2 Million' Dog"}}]}] ```