The million pound pooch
QUESTION What are the most expensive dog and cat breeds?
In 2011, Big Splash, or ‘Hong Dong’ in Chinese, an 11-month-old red Tibetan mastiff, was purchased by a wealthy Chinese businessman for 10 million yuan, then worth around £1 million.
The Tibetan mastiff is a large animal; Big Splash weighed 180 lb (82 kg), with an impressive double coat — a heavy, woolly undercoat and coarse guard hair.
Their watchful and independent nature has made the Tibetan mastiff an excellent guard dog and they can still be found performing that role.
Despite their intimidating size, they have a soft nature when it comes to their owners. They are in high demand from the Chinese nouveau riche; legend has it that the Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan owned them.
It is possible to buy Tibetan mastiff puppies for around £3,000 in Britain.
Britain’s most expensive puppies are those of the Canadian Eskimo Dog, an Arctic breed of working dog, one of north America’s oldest and rarest purebred canines. They can cost £4,500 or more.
The Löwchen is a small, long-haired dog popular during the Renaissance but which became virtually extinct by the 19th century. now revived, a puppy can fetch between £3,000 and £5,000.
The Samoyed takes its name from the Samoyedic peoples of Siberia. These nomadic reindeer herders breed the fluffy white dogs to herd and to pull sleds. A Samoyed puppy will cost from £2,500 to £4,500.
Our most expensive indigenous breed is the English Bulldog. A muscular, heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose, a puppy will cost around £2,000.
Maggie Hodges, Ingoldmells, Lincs. In THE U.S., exotic cat breeds are very popular. By far the most expensive is the Ashera, a mix between an African Serval, an Asian Leopard and a domesticated cat that can weigh up to 30 lb.
The Lifestyle Pets company breeds around 100 Ashera a year which can fetch well over £20,000. They are good with children and, like a few other breeds, can be trained to a lead. It’s quite an investment as they can live over 25 years.
The Ashera is considered an improvement upon the Savannah, a mix of a domestic house cat and an African Serval. These are a similar size, but untrainable and intolerant to strangers. They cost about £10,000.
In the UK several handsome breeds are worth between £1,000 and £1,500. These include the stocky, yet stunning, British Blue (also British shorthair) and its cousin the long-haired Highlander (British longhair), the massive Maine Coon, which can grow up to 4 ft high and weigh 20lb, the hairless Sphynx, the leopardlike Bengal and owl-like Scottish Fold, with its distinctive folded-over ears.
Catherine Reddy, Solihull, West Midlands.
QUESTION What’s the least valuable currency?
THE Iranian rial is the world’s least valuable currency. It has suffered a host of shocks over the last few years.
Crushing sanctions imposed on Tehran by the U.S. Trump administration and the added economic difficulties brought about by the coronavirus crisis have taken their toll.
Also Iran’s annual oil revenues have plummeted to around £7 billion from £80 billion in 2011. The rial was trading at around 18,000 rial to the pound in 2015 after the country signed its nuclear deal, it now stands at a £1:54,000 rial.
The second weakest currency is the Vietnamese dong at about 29,500 to the pound. Unlike Iran, Vietnam’s banking system is connected to the rest of the world’s. This means that you can become a millionaire instantly by withdrawing £35 from a Vietnamese ATM.
Dan Wilson, Warwick.
QUESTION Did the Bohemian Grove, a U.S. secret society, actually exist?
THE Bohemian Club is a San Franciscobased elite, 2,500 strong, all-male members-only club that was established in the 19th century.
The club owns Bohemian Grove, a large redwood estate in California where its members meet annually to drink and participate in various arcane rituals.
notable members have included Clint Eastwood, Henry Kissinger, Walter Cronkite, Richard nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain and Jack London.
The Club was founded by a group of journalists and artists in 1872. They chose an owl as the club’s totem and gathered to socialise, drink, and put on and enjoy theatrical and musical performances — hence the term bohemian. It has a permanent HQ on Taylor Street in downtown San Francisco.
On June 29, 1878, the Bohemians gathered among the redwoods in Marin County for a party in honour of the popular stage actor Henry ‘Harry’ Edwards who was relocating to new York.
The ‘encampment’ thus became an annual tradition. In 1889 the members purchased a permanent 2,700-acre campground at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California.
In the 20th century the members’ retreat garnered a reputation for involving highly secretive and cultish rituals, such as the ‘Cremation of Care’ — an opening ceremony whose purpose was to make the club members ‘carefree’ from the outset of the retreat.
The performance takes place in front of the large concrete owl (built 1929) in the centre of the camp at Bohemian Grove.
The Club motto is ‘weaving spiders, come not here’, This is a line from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer night’s Dream, reflecting the idea that members are not to talk business but to relax and enjoy themselves.
Alex Warren, Brighton, E. Sussex.
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