In case you were wondering what became of Leona Helmsley’s “rich bitch” Trouble, rest assured she’s not eating trodden banana peels or slurping water from pot holes. “Trouble is no trouble. She is alive and well and thriving,” Howard Rubenstein, spokesman for the Helmsley estate told the Post. When her real-estate mogul owner passed away in 2007 the Maltese poodle inherited $2 million—reduced from $12 million by a Manhattan judge—and now resides at the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel. The manager there noted there should be plenty of cash leftover, since the dog isn’t expected to live more than five years. Watch out Trouble, we think he's angling to be your heir! more ›

We originally thought this Craigslist ad threatening to poison area dogs was a cruel joke, but could there be a real-life Cruella behind it? The listing was put up earlier this month, warning, "I am hiding dog poison at dog runs," and has since been removed—but the NY Post reports that the city’s Parks Department is taking it seriously, and has put dog owners on notice in all five boroughs. more ›

The Westminster Dog Show is kicking off tomorrow at Madison Square Gardens and above are just a few of the canine competitors. A four-year-old Scottish terrier named Sadie is favored to win, but she has a reputation for being skittish—two years ago she was spooked by a handler’s squeaky shoes, the sound of thumping on wooden boards covering the ice hockey rink and a TV monitor. Last year, she was still acting erratically: she went to the bathroom on the green carpet, right in front of judges, reports the AP. So don't call it yet, it’s still any dog's game. more ›

Up for auction this week is a dog collar owned by "Tale of Two Cities" author Charles Dickens. The Victorian-era canine ID, fashioned from leather and brass, and engraved in loopy script with the writer’s name and address, is expected to fetch between $4,000 and $6,000 at Bonham New York’s 28th annual dog art sale on Tuesday. (Bullseye was the name of the villain's dog in "Oliver Twist" but it's unclear what the writer named his non-fictional dog.) Last year an ivory and gold toothpick that belonged to the author went for $9,150, according to the AP, but that had Dickens’s spit on it, not just dog slobber. Other Dickens ephemera lives at the NYPL. more ›

Who doesn't love a good old dog story on a gloomy Friday? We may have just lost 21-year-old Chanel (the world's oldest dog), but this past week New York City's oldest canine turned 20, with a cake-filled celebration in midtown. NY1 reports that the dachshund is named Paco Sosa, and his master is Bernadine Santistevan—who credits his longevity to a combination of exercise and diet (he eats organic and takes holistic remedies). His favorite hobbies include eating (!) and walking around Central Park (though we'd guess any park would do). Daily Intel is suspect of Paco's sudden press, saying "Chanel was barely in the grave ten days before Paco seized the opportunity to start hogging the limelight." more ›

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