That dog thing seemed ridiculous to me. We found my Buffy in a parking lot as a puppy. We gave her a pack of Cheetos and next thing you know she's 125 pound monster with her own recliner and a bladder that refused to coordinate to our sleep schedules. She's no longer with us (RIP, sweetie), but she gave us 10 good years of security. And, by "security," I mean she would hear a car, run to the door, bark twice and then go hide in the bathtub. Like, "Warned you, humans. You're on your own now. Peace out."
I've often wondered what we would have gotten had we given her something other than Cheetos. Potato chips, perhaps? Would she have then at least hung around long enough to determine if it was the mailman or an ax murderer?
I guess my point is that for a $1 in a vending machine, we accomplished what they wanted $20K to do.