Dale E. Watson Attorney at Law

09/15/2026

09/15/2026

09/15/2026

09/15/2026

Before Rocky made him famous, Stallone was an actor barely scraping by in New York. His bullmastiff, Butkus, was his closest companion through those rough years.

Eventually, money became so tight that Stallone said he could no longer afford food. In one of his later retellings, he said he sold Butkus for just $40 outside a 7-Eleven.

Around the same period, Stallone wrote Rocky**. The script attracted interest—but there was a problem: United Artists wanted a more established actor in the starring role.**

Stallone refused.

He was broke enough to have sold his dog, yet he still held onto the one condition that mattered most: he had to play Rocky Balboa himself. Producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff backed him, and the film eventually went forward with Stallone in the lead.

Then Stallone went looking for Butkus.

In a 2017 account, he said the new owner knew how desperately he wanted his dog back and demanded $15,000. Stallone paid it, later writing that Butkus was “worth every penny.” Other interviews give different figures for the sale and repurchase, but the heart of the story remains the same: Stallone really did sell Butkus during financial hardship and later brought him home.

And Butkus got his own Hollywood ending.

He appeared alongside Stallone in both Rocky and Rocky II**.**

The dog who had shared Stallone’s hungriest years was suddenly sharing the screen with him during his biggest breakthrough.

08/05/2026

Sick bastards so all I said is true now what ? 🦗

08/05/2026

Whoa 😳

08/05/2026

From the mouths of babes