'Yangtze River Number Two', must be one special dog - His new owner apparently forked out a whopping $500,000 USD for the fluffy black Tibetan Mastiff.

Mrs. Wang, who already owns a female Tibetan Mastiff, said that it had taken her years to find such a pure bred.

In fact, she had to go all the way to the Tibetan province of Quinghai with to search for her new pet. When she finally met him in the town of Yushu, she knew that she had to have him no matter what the cost. For as this Chinese millionaire succintly puts it - 'Gold has a price, but this Tibetan Mastiff doesn't'.

And of course a dog this precious has to be welcomed in a special way - It was reported that the day the trio landed at Xi'an the capital of the Shaanxi Province, where Mrs. Wang resides, 30 Mercedes limousines, along with a dog-lovers committee complete with banners, was waiting to welcome them home.

The Tibetan Mastiff also known as Tsang Khyi, are one of the largest species of dogs, with sturdy body frames and a large mane and coat that make them appear even large. Native to Tibet, they are ferocious and aggressiveanimals. Their personality and fearlessness makes them perfect flock dogs, because of their willingness and ability to confront predators like wolves and even leopards.

They are however, extremely intelligent animals who make very loyal pets once they are socialized and trained - But are they worth half a million dollars? Now that is a million dollar question!

sources:wikipedia.org,annova.com,timesonline.com