Singer Justin Bieber watches players during the first half of Game 7 in their NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers, Monday, June 3, 2013 in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)Lynne Sladky/The Associated Press
How much is that doggy in the window? When you're Justin Bieber, immediate pet-ownership gratification trumps price and sensibility.
As reported by E! Online, Canada's pop export was visiting his hometown of Stratford, Ontario, for the holidays this week when he decided to stop by a local pet store.
Seemingly oblivious to the hubbub created by his on-again/off-again retirement rumours, Bieber was window-shopping with family members at Ruffin's Pet Centre when he spotted an adorable American bulldog puppy.
And apparently it was love at first sight.
According to a Ruffin's employee, Bieber paid $600 for the adorable pooch, which came from a breeder. Approximately 35 delighted fans watched the singer pay for the dog and leave (by the back entrance in order to avoid the swelling crowd outside).
The same employee told E! News that Biebs and his family are regular customers at the store and have purchased pets there before.
One day later, Bieber's father, Jeremy Bieber, jumped onto Twitter to share news of the new addition with his nearly two-million followers.
His tweet: "So we're gona let one lucky #believer name @justinbieber's new puppy…Follow and find out how it can be you." (which in part explains why Bieber's father has nearly two-million Twitter followers).
Bieber the elder also shared a picture of himself holding the seven-week-old dog with the caption, "Newest Bieber."
So far, the Biebs himself has not deigned to share any pictures of the puppy on Instagram and hasn't even mentioned the new pooch on Twitter, but at least one media outlet is already counting the days until he forgets all about the bulldog.
The TMZ version of the bulldog story begins with the cold assertion that Bieber "adopted another pet he will almost certainly abandon."
As TMZ points out, Bieber doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation in regard to pet ownership.
More specifically, hamster ownership.
In late 2012, Bieber was still in the nascent stages of his pop-music ascension when he came into possession of a Russian dwarf hamster (which he owned for all of two months).
After proclaiming his undying love for the hamster, named Pac, Bieber gave the creature away to a fan outside one of his concerts in Atlanta.
Pac died several weeks later and the fan buried him in her backyard. Bye-bye, Pac.
Bieber's track record is even more shameful in regard to his pet Capuchin monkey, named OB Mally, or Mally for short.
Earlier this year, Bieber was on tour in Europe when Mally was seized by German customs officers.
It turns out neither Bieber or his handlers had bothered to obtain the correct documentation for owning a monkey, so Mally stayed behind while the Bieber tour machine rolled on.
German officials gave the pop star three months to provide the proper documents and reclaim Mally, but Bieber missed the deadline and the monkey became German property.
At last check, Mally was residing in Serengeti Park, a zoo and leisure facility in Northern Germany. Bieber has presumably already given all of Mally's old outfits to his diminutive rapper pal Lil Twist.
All of which bodes not well for the unnamed bulldog. Did Bieber even realize that taking a dog from Canada to Los Angeles, where he now resides fulltime when not on tour, requires permits and paperwork? Did it ever occur to him that dogs like to go out for a walk once a day? And maybe receive the occasional affectionate rub on the head?
Good luck, little bulldog.