Going to the dogs

A friend once said to my wife that if he came back as a dog when he died he wanted to be ours. But none of ours have ever been treated like this.

He might want to see if he could make a better deal.

Trouble for Trouble! Judge Knocks $10 Mil from Helmsley Dog’s Take

It all seemed pretty rich, until we read about the expense sheet for Trouble (pictured), the Maltese poodle left behind by the late Leona Helmsley, who died last August at 87. In papers that were reportedly unsealed today, Manhattan surrogate court judge Renee Roth, along with New York State’s Attorney General’s Office, reduced Trouble’s trust fund from $12 million to $2 million. According to the report in the NY Post, the deal also entailed $6 million in payments to Helmsley’s two disinherited grandchildren, amid their allegations that Helmsley wasn’t mentally competent when she signed her will.

As for Trouble’s future well-being, she now resides in Florida with Carl Lekic, the general manager of the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel, reports the NYP. In an affidavit, Lekic said that “Two million dollars . . . would be enough money to pay for Trouble’s maintenance and welfare at the highest standards of care for more than 10 years, which is more that twice her reasonably anticipated life expectancy,” he said.

Lekic put Trouble’s annual expenses at $190,000, which includes Lekic’s $60,000 guardian fee, $100,000 for ’round-the-clock security, $8,000 for grooming, $3,000 for miscellaneous expenses, $1,200 for food and anywhere from $2,500 to $18,000 for medical care.

Yes indeed, it's a dog's life.