Give up? They both sell for $1.5 million. A Chinese coal baron has just bought the red Tibetan mastiff above for $1.5 million. That makes the dog, named Big Splash (or Hong Dong, in Chinese), the most expensive dog in the world.

The wedding gown made its debut last month in Miami. The dress, made by Jad Ghandour and Danasha Luxury, features diamonds and 18k gold, costs $1.5 million.

Just to put it in perspective, $1.5 million is also a figure the folks in Pflugerville, Texas, are familiar with. They’ve been trying to raise this amount because of the town’s desperate need for a new shelter. They can build it for the cost of this mastiff or this gown. Check out the most recent photo I could find of the current facility. (It’s from 2006, but if it’s still like this, I can certainly see the desperate need for something different…)