美联社3月24日报道,对中国的暴富一族来说，除了豪宅和跑车，最新的奢侈品就是藏獒。对那些想要在股票和房地产之外挥洒财富的人来说，藏獒正红极一时。

China's latest must-have luxury for the ultra-rich, to go with mansions and sports cars, is a large, slobbery dog with massive amounts of hair best known for herding sheep in Tibet.

Pet ownership is booming in China, and the Tibetan mastiff is the dog of the moment for those who want to spread their wealth beyond stocks and real estate.

"I used to invest in German shepherds, but Tibetan mastiffs are what's hot right now," said Sui Huizheng, a business owner who has about 20 of the dogs and attended the 6th annual China Tibetan Mastiff Expo this past weekend.

Hundreds of the hairy dogs were on hand, and owners and handlers marched the most expensive ones down catwalks as though they were fashion models. Some carried the names of wealthy Americans like "Warren Buffett," while others were called "God" and "Prince."

Their hoped-for prize: breeders willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a mate for their mastiff.

The craze seems to defy sales patterns and common sense elsewhere, especially for a dog that is common and is known for being fierce.

"I can understand racehorses and diamonds, but I don't understand why someone would want to pay half a million dollars for a dog," said Martha Feltenstein, president of the American Tibetan Mastiff Association.

In the US, Tibetan mastiff pups can be bought for as little as several hundred dollars, Feltenstein said.

Breeders in China say adult Tibetan mastiffs sell for tens of thousands of dollars, and can even go for more than $100,000.

After splurging on real estate in Australia, American thoroughbreds and European designer fashions, China's rich see the Tibetan mastiffs as a new status symbol.

"You could call it a local luxury brand," said Rupert Hoogewerf, a Shanghai-based tax specialist who compiles a popular annual list of China's richest people.

"Luxury brands are growing at phenomenal rates in China and owning a Tibetan mastiff is another channel for increasing your credibility and showing off your rich status."