I've had a lot of people ask how much I paid for Max. Most of them are just curious how much a small dog like him would cost, so sometimes I'll tell them. I've always been a little leery though of telling anyone what any of my pets cost b/c of the potential for theft. I had rare parrots and I paid almost twice what I paid for one of them as I paid for my Yorkie, and I would NEVER have told anyone (other than the cardiac surgeon who happened to be standing next to me when I was making out the check for the bird, and realized how much tax was on a couple thousand dollars
..and he said "well, how much did that bird cost to begin with???". I knew he had NO desire to steal my bird, LOL. But you know when groups of teenagers or young men particularly, who seem to travel in pods, are expressing an interest in something you know they really probably have no other interest in other than profiting from them, it makes you a little uneasy. I feel the same way about Max; if they really want to know, they can look it up on the internet themselves. I have to tell my dh all the time not to tell everyone who asks; I think he's just kind of chagrined that he used to complain at what I spent on my birds (altho we weren't even acquaintances when I bought them), and now he'd spent almost as much on a dog
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I wouldn't have a problem with someone trying to take Max out of my arms, b/c he's extremely protective and when someone sticks their hand or hands at him without letting him smell them for as long as he deems suitable, he growls, barks and snaps at them. Not exactly endearing behavior for what appeared to be such a sweet mellow little doggy, but it keeps idiots from invading our personal space
Anyone saying something stupid like "who would pay that much for a dog?" is just plain ignorant, so I usually give them a dirty look and say to Max "see, dogs really ARE smarter than most people".
