Would You Buy a $230,000 Dog?

$230,000. Think you could swing it and spend it on a pup meant for protection? One Minneapolis-area executive could. . .and did.

John Johnson, a Minneapolis businessman who had received personal threats for his business involvement in the past, now owns six protection dogs including his newest addition, the $230,000 purchase in the form of Julia, a German Shepherd with skills akin to those K-9 members of the now famed Navy Seal Team 6.

For Johnson, Julia's purchase was "a top deal." Apparently, there is no price for the protection Johnson's stable of pups provides to his Minneapolis estate as well as on business trips and other travels of the sort.

Others, however, are not as convinced about the apparent "deal" Johnson received on the pup. According to the article in the New York Times, Jeremy Norton, Julia's part-time trainer, "smiled a bit uncomfortably when asked to explain the $230,000 price."

Typically, protection dogs similar to Julia can fetch for a hefty price of $50,000, which still seems outlandish to the average person. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it seems.

Could you justify anyone spending this amount on a protection dog? Let us know in a comment!