Granted, taken at face value, the answer to your question is a GLARING "NO". But, words spoken (or typed) in the heat of an argument can't ALWAYS be taken at face value.
I'm not by any means saying that Nicole is correct in this, nor that the dragon WAS in fact a gift, but just that the situation overall makes me feel that it could very well have been. To me, Ed's statement early on about "giving her the world", along with his statements about them being engaged force me to see it as a gift regardless of what may have been since (or prior for that matter) by either party...
Unfortunately, regardless of what is determined to be the truth in the matter, without hard evidence (which has yet to be shown [ie. Physical breeder loan contract signed by both parties, documentation showing that the dragon WAS in fact a gift, etc]), it will continue to be nothing more than a "he said/she said" battle between 2 individuals, neither of which have stellar reputations when it comes to 100% disclosure of facts.