HAVE you been keeping your eye on the property market lately? If not, perhaps check in with a canine companion. A dog in the United States just sold his own home - previously the property of a very famous singer - for $29 million.

 

Huh?

You read it right, a German Shepherd named Gunther VI sold off his mansion in Miami for $29 million, which, sadly for the pup, was a little bit lower than it had been listed for at $31.75 million back in November.

 

Still…?

Indeed, what’s a couple of million dollars to Gunther? The lucky pooch isn’t short of a cent, thanks to his ancestor’s late owner. People magazine in America confirmed that the dog’s wealth stems from the late German Countess, Karlotta Leibenstein, who passed away in 1992 and, having no children or grandchildren, bequeathed her entire vast $80 million fortune to her dog, Gunther III, grandfather of Gunther VI.

 

Wowee!

It gets better as the team in charge of managing the dog's estate have made some shrewd investments in property around the world and as a result, amassed a fortune of around $500 million, so the dog chews are definitely on Gunther.

 

Who owned the house before him?

The nine-bedroom, eight-and-a-half-bath waterfront Miami estate was once the home of Madonna and clearly a fan, Gunther slept in the superstar’s former bedroom. Real estate agent Ruthie Assouline told the magazine: "We have sold countless multimillion-dollar homes but this one is definitely a first. When the handlers initially told me a dog owned the property, I didn't believe it. During our first meeting with Gunther, he ran up to me and gave me a huge slobbery kiss and licked off my lipstick. I think that is what really sealed the deal!”

 

He’s not the only rich pet?

When Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld died in 2019, he left $200 million to his beloved cat, Choupette, but she wasn't the kind of cat to sit back and live off her spoils, having built a reputation as a worker - in 2015, she was paid $3 million for promotional work with a car firm and a make-up brand. She now lives in Paris with a nanny, while her 104,000 Instagram followers keep up with the day-to-day events of her life. On Christmas Eve she was pictured under her Christmas tree, saying to her followers: “Discreetly I slip behind the Christmas tree, hoping to find something there. Are you excited too? Have a good Christmas dinner."

 

Any other rich pets?

Taylor Swift’s cats have healthy bank accounts. Her pet, Olivia Benson - named after a character on Law & Order: SVU - has made an array of appearances in the pop star's music videos and has made cameos in commercials, with a Pet Rich List from 2018 putting her wealth at $97 million. Swift has also trademarked the name "Meredith and Olivia Swift" - in honour of her other cat Meredith Grey (named after the character in Grey's Anatomy) - for various merchandise items on sale in her official online store. They sure are ‘feline’ fine. SORRY!