30 Dogs Who Make More Than Their Owners

Dogs Who Make More Than Their Owners

Manny The Frenchie/facebook.com

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Dogs Who Make More Than Their Owners
Manny The Frenchie/facebook.com

INDEPENDENT DOGGOS

There are a lot of benefits that come from owning a dog. Dogs typically earn their keep by warding off thieves, keeping a neighbor's cat out of the yard, or just by being good company. However, some of the harder-working dogs out there do just fine without their master's paycheck, thank you very much. We took a look at the earnings of some of the most famous and highly pampered dogs in history and found a number that not only out-earned their owners, but kept them fed and happy — making people question just who the pet is in that equation.

Jiffpom
Jiff the dog/facebook.com

JIFFPOM


Estimated Earnings: $13,000 to $22,000 per Instagram post and $4,000 a year on YouTube alone
Jiffpom once held the record for world's fastest dog on two front paws. But having more than 1 million Facebook followers, 2 million Instagram followers, a calendar and his own emoji app in the App Store has bumped up this Pomeranian's earnings potential.

Tuna
Tuna Melts My Heart/facebook.com

TUNA


Estimated Earnings: $3,000 to $5,000 per Instagram post
Tuna is a chiweenie (or chihuahua and dachshund mix) who was found on the side of the road in San Diego and adopted by his current owner after being spotted at a farmers market in Los Angeles where he was being shown for adoption. He has nearly 2 million Instagram followers, a book ("The Underdog with the Overbite"), guest spots on the Today show, and an East Coast tour. This little influencer owes a lot to both his owner and his recessed jawline.

Manny the Frenchie
Manny The Frenchie/facebook.com
Doug the Pug
Doug The Pug/facebook.com

DOUG THE PUG


Estimated Earnings: $5,400 to $9,800 per Instagram post and $27,400 a year on YouTube
Doug is a social-media beast. With 6 million Facebook followers, 3.5 million Instagram followers, a prolific streaming presence, multiple books, a store full of merchandise, and a whole lot of celebrity friends, Doug has a full social schedule. After owner Leslie Mosier bought him from an Ohio breeder and moved him down to Nashville in 2012, Doug's life got a whole lot more exciting than most pugs could imagine.

Sylar
GlobalP/istockphoto

SYLAR


Earnings: $500,000
Zhou Tianxiao had a $500,000 dog mansion built for his border collie, Sylar, in Beijing after a series of tricks performed online to Lady Gaga songs made Sylar famous. That prompted Tianxiao to open a dog food and toy store on Taobao, a popular Chinese e-commerce website, and make enough money to be financially stable. As a thank you to Sylar, Tianxiao converted an old warehouse into a pet mansion with a spa, a trampoline, an indoor pool, two huge portraits of Sylar and a party room. "Before I had Sylar, I had nothing to live for," Tianxiao said. "He gave me a purpose."

Maru
MARU TARO/facebook.com
Toast
Toast Meets World/facebook.com

TOAST


Estimated Earnings: $1,850 per sponsored post
A King Charles spaniel rescue dog also had a huge Instagram presence (more than 400,000 followers and counting) and counted as an "influencer" before her death in December 2017. She posed as a sunglasses model, Harper Collins published her book, and she appeared on a Parker Thatch tote.

Marnie
Marnie The Dog/facebook.com

MARNIE


Estimated Earnings: $3,000 to $5,000 per Instagram post, $1,000 a year on YouTube
Another rescue dog — courtesy of television producer Shirley Braha — Marnie has an Instagram account Marnie has an Instagram account with more than 2 million followers, a Facebook page with more than 400,000 likes, an online shop, a book and an app.

Boo
Boo/facebook.com

BOO


Earnings: $1 million a year
It helps to know the right people. Boo's owner worked for Facebook and set up a page for the Pomeranian. Ke$ha tweeted a link to his page, which led to his role as Official Pet Liaison for Virgin America, which led to a deal for a book that's been printed in 11 languages.

Pudsey
Garry Knight/wikimedia.org

PUDSEY


Earnings: $12.8 million
Pudsey died last year, five years after winning "Britain's Got Talent" in 2012. However, his brilliant owner, Ashleigh Butler, turned Pudsey's success into appearance fees, a film, and even a meeting with Queen Elizabeth.

Moose
Frasier/facebook.com
Rin Tin Tin
RinTinTin/facebook.com

RIN TIN TIN


Earnings: $2,000 a week ($30,000 to $35,000 when adjusted for inflation)
Rin Tin Tin, a German shepherd found by a soldier during World War I, starred in dozens of movies for Warner Brothers from 1922 to 1932, saving the studio from bankruptcy.

Pal
Lassie/facebook.com

PAL


Earnings: $4,000 a week (nearly $60,000 when adjusted for inflation)
Pal, a male collie masquerading as "Lassie," filled that iconic role from 1943 until he died in 1958. That run brought in $4,000 a week for Pal, though several other dogs also went on to play Lassie.

Skippy
Crowell Publishing Company/wikimedia.org

SKIPPY


Earnings: $250 a week (between $4,400 and $4,500 when adjusted for inflation)
From 1932 to 1941, Skippy had a prolific Hollywood career. Known as Asta in the "Thin Man" movies, he was also featured in "The Awful Truth" and "Bringing Up Baby." Skippy was well known for his acting abilities and holds a place in the hearts of many movie lovers. It should be noted that while Skippy's highest take was $250 a week, his trainer was getting just $60.

Mushu
Men In Black/facebook.com

MUSHU


Earnings: $50,000 to $100,000
Though he only appeared in two "Men in Black" films before his unfortunate death, the pug that played Frank in the first movie and its sequel got VIP treatment throughout the process: Flying business class, getting a hotel room, being fed room service. However, Mushu's greatest legacy remains: A constant reminder that pugs are fairly high-maintenance dogs that require just the right owner.

Bodhi
Courtesy of mensweardog.tumblr.com

BODHI


Earnings: $15,000 a month
This is one stylish bro-dog. He's named after Patrick Swayze's character in "Point Break," and he poses in menswear for whoever will pay for the privilege. He's appeared in GQ, Esquire, Nylon, Time and elsewhere, and you cannot dim this dog's shine.

Terry
NBC Television Network/wikimedia.org

TERRY


Earnings: $125 ($2,250) a week
Terry has a filmography of more than a dozen movies, but the greatest role Terry ever played was her gender-swapping role as Toto in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz." So desperate was that era during the Great Depression that Terry was paid more than the actors playing the Munchkins.

Higgins
Benji/facebook.com

HIGGINS


Earnings: $200 million
Higgins, better known as Benji, may well be the best-paid animal actor of all time. The star of a number of movies and television shows, Higgins earned the bulk of his kibble as Benji. Owner Frank Inn was coy about exact figures, but Higgins' work and merchandising was rumored to have brought in more than $200 million.

Musketeer
K_Thalhofer/istockphoto

MUSKETEER


Earnings: $4.2 million
In 1968, oil heiress Eleanor Ritchey left $12 million,114,000 shares of Quaker Oil stock, bonds, real estate, and Treasury bills to Auburn University with one minor stipulation: They had to spend $4.2 million taking care of her 150 adopted stray dogs. The school received the $12 million only after the last survivor, a mutt by the name of Musketeer, slipped the mortal coil.

Samantha
benimage/istockphoto

SAMANTHA


Earnings: $3.3 million
Bathroom fixture manufacturer Sidney Altman left $6 million to his cocker spaniel, Samantha, when he died in 1998 at age 61. His girlfriend, 32-year-old Marie Dana, was stunned by the matter and sued for $2.7 million and custody of Samantha, saying Altman's will was "stale."

Gene Roddenberry's Dogs
o_sa/istockphoto

GENE RODDENBERRY'S DOGS


Earnings: $4 million+
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's wife set up a $4 million trust for their dogs, putting aside another $1 million for an employee to care for them to live in the couple's mansion and care for the dogs. When she died in 2009, the dogs became richer than their caretaker.

Juice, Callum, and Minter
onetouchspark/istockphoto

JUICE, CALLUM, AND MINTER


Earnings: $246,000
When fashion designer Alexander McQueen killed himself in 2010, he left $82,000 to each of his English bull terrier dogs. He also gave almost $165,000 to both the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Blue Cross Animal Welfare Charity.

Jasper and Jason
Eriklam/istockphoto

JASPER AND JASON


Earnings: $300,000
In England, Ramsden Brewery heiress Diana Myburgh left $50,000 trust funds each to Jasper, a Labrador-Doberman mix, and Jason, a Whippet, when she died in 1995. They were also given a 1,236-acre estate, rides in a chauffeur-driven stretch limo, and meals of mussels, sirloin steak, and Dover sole prepared by a personal chef.

Toby Rimes
ruthrose/istockphoto

TOBEY RIMES


Earnings: $80 million
Ella Wendel was the last remaining sister of an old-money New York family that dates back to the Gilded Age. An urban legend says her fortune was passed along to the poodle. However, Tobey outlived his owner by a only few months, after which the fortune was divided among multiple recipients. It is believed that only Wendel's home was reserved for the dog, and it was bequeathed to Drew University only after the dog died.

Fannie.
JStaley401/istockphoto

FANNIE


Earnings: $25,000 (more than $692,000 when adjusted for inflation)
Anne E. Dier was shot to death by her husband in her North Tonawanda, New York, home in 1909. Perhaps seeing that event coming, she willed her entire estate to a couple in Buffalo for the care and protection of her dog.

Tina and Kate
GlobalP/istockphoto

TINA AND KATE


Earnings: $1 million+
Reclusive owner Nora Hardwell left her Collie mixes her home and 5 acres of land in Peasedown St John, near Bath. She also bequeathed them $1 million for whatever they needed.

Trouble
teap/istockphoto

TROUBLE


Earnings: $2 million
Trouble was former Manhattan real-estate mogul Leona Helmsley's white Maltese and is buried beside her in a mausoleum. That said, Helmsley died in 2007 and left the dog $12 million and a caretaker. The move spurred a nasty headline in The New Yorker, "Rich Bitch," A judge trimmed Trouble's inheritance to $2 million. In the dog's post-mortem published in The New York Times, it was revealed that the dog lived a lush life in Sarasota, Florida, on its owners' millions.

Conchita
PatrikSlezak/istockphoto
Gunther IV
Bigandt_Photography/istockphoto

GUNTHER IV


Earnings: $400 million
Countess Karlotta Libenstein of Germany left approximately $80 million to her German shepherd, Gunther III, in 1992. However, her trustees invested the money and tripled the fortune and bought the dog villas in Italy and the Bahamas, as well as a Miami Beach mansion formerly owned by Madonna. Gunther IV inherited his lavish lifestyle from his father, Gunther III.

Dixie
horsesdogscats/istockphoto

DIXIE


Earnings: $4,500 (more than $46,500 when adjusted for inflation)
Memphis barber G.S. Richberg didn't think much of his family. When he died in 1948, he left the entirety of his estate to his dog, on the condition that it be paid out each month for the rest of the dog's life. The family argued the case all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court, to no avail.