Almost nobody wants Trouble

Seems as if the person Leona Helmsley wanted to take care of her 8-year-old Maltese doesn't want the pooch. So says the New York Post.

Ahem.

I have room.

And I'm sure Kate would like a little sister.

I wish I had those Troubles

There is still some controversy about Trouble's billions.

Trouble, you will recall, is the Maltese pooch to whom Leona Helmsley left a lot of cash.

A Manhattan judge ruled Wednesday the $5 billion estate can be distributed to people, places and things other than dog-related charities.

Here is the story from the N.Y. Daily News.

The luxury hotel queen, who died at age 87 in August 2007, famously left $12 million in her will to her tiny Maltese, Trouble, while freezing out two of her grandchildren.

A judge last year trimmed Trouble's trust fund to $2 million, while providing $6 million to her two disowned grandchildren.

They charged she wasn't mentally competent when she signed the will.

Trouble, who lives in Sarasota, Fla., now, has annual expenses totaling about $300,000, including $210,000 of round-the-clock protection.

Funny, Kate manages very well on less.

Nothin' but Trouble

$12 million dollars bequeathed to a dog.

That's what Leona Helmsley, "The Queen of Mean," left her dog Trouble, a white Maltese.

However, according to a Reuters report, she left two of her four grandchildren out of her will, "for reasons which are known to them."

The age of Trouble was not released. Life expectancy of Maltese dogs is 15 to 18 years.

"That's a lot of biscuits" jokes aside, think of what that money — or even a portion of it — could have done for financially strapped animal shelters.

(9/2/07) NOTE: The New York Times reports that Trouble is 8 years old. Here's to a long, happy life.