Owner causes public anger for not paying $1.4M reward for missing dog as promised

The man, surnamed Yang, of China’s central province of Henan, announced on his social media account July 9 that he would pay whoever helped him to find his missing dog Tianlang, an ex-military canine that "made contributions to the nation," 10 million yuan, the South China Morning Post reported.

Yang announced on his social media account July 9 that he would pay whoever helped him to find his missing dog Tianlang 10 million yuan (around $1.4 million). Photo from dwzhang's Twitter

He explained that he was willing to give such a huge reward as Tianlang was a "family member" and warned that if anyone harmed the dog, an investigation to "seek justice" would be imposed.

But when the dog was returned to him in less than 24 hours, Yang betrayed his own words and offered only 5,000 yuan to the person, prompting the police to investigate him the next day and detain him for 15 days for giving the person who helped him find his dog the lesser sum.

Yang explained that he was willing to give such a huge reward as Tianlang was a "family member." Illustration photo by Pexels

Responses to the incident varied online.

While some were furious accusing Yang of using the huge reward as a stunt and betraying trust, some questioned why anyone would believe in such a huge reward in the first place.

"Trust between people has been totally destroyed," a netizen said.

"Even if a lawsuit is filed, the court won’t support a reward of 10 million," wrote another.