The vicious attack on a woman by Tibetan Mastiff, which is revered as a status symbol of China's rich has kicked off an old debate whether the world's most expensive dog is a highly dangerous pet to keep.
A woman in Miyun county here, who had gone to her neighbour's house to ask for help to turn off a leaking water pipe was bitten multiple times by the Tibetan Mastiff which was not tied by her neighbour.
She suffered a brain haemorrhage and was awarded 14,000 yuan (USD 2300) by a Beijing court this week for her injuries.
The Tibetan Mastiff, originally bred to protect sheep from wolves in Tibet, is banned in many Chinese cities along with several big breeds.
Last August, the Bandao Daily reported that a six-year-old girl died after being attacked by a Tibetan Mastiff and accounts of attacks by the dogs are common in Chinese media, including one case in which 20 police officers were called to deal with two dogs after they attacked pedestrians in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province.
Perhaps the greatest example of the animal's perceived ferocity is that a Henan zoo reportedly attempted to pass one off as an African lion.
Tibetan Mastiffs are also considered to be the world's most expensive breed of dogs and in the past one dog was sold for 12 million Yuan (USD two million).
While insiders suspect that the sky-high prices may be the result of insider agreements among breeders to attract publicity, the dogs have proved a hit with China's 'nouveau riche' as a living status symbol, Hong-Kong based South China Morning Post reported.
After studying a number of cases, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said, "Given the powerful impact of socialisation, it's no surprise that dogs that are chained outside and isolated from positive human interaction are more likely to bite people than dogs which are integrated into our homes."
Guo Feng, vice chairman of the China Purebred Tibetan Mastiff Association defended the Tibetan Mastiff saying that biting or mauling their owners "goes against the nature of purebred mastiffs, which are well known for their loyalty".
