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'Trouble' Has Died; Leona Helmsley's Pampered Pooch Inherited Millions

She was certainly among the world's richest canines.

Now, Trouble has passed away at the age of 12 (or, 84 if you're counting in dog years).

As New York'sDaily Newsreminds us, Trouble was the "pampered pooch" who inherited $12 million when infamous hotel queen Leona Helmsley died in 2007. She (Trouble, that is) was living the retired life in Florida with Carl Lekic, general manager of the Helmsley Sandcastle hotel in Sarasota.

Trouble, a Maltese, didn't see all the money her owner left her. CBSNewYork notes that a judge "later knocked down" the inheritance to $2 million.

But her life was pretty good. According to the Daily News, Trouble was getting along on about $100,000 a year — much of that for Lekic's fee and a full-time security guard (there were some death threats aimed at Trouble, apparently). The money that's left will be put into the , CBS says.

Trouble came to Helmsley after her (Helmsley's, that is) 18-month stretch in prison on tax evasion charges.

As the Daily Newsadds:

"Helmsley, who cut two grandchildren out of her will and evicted her son's widow after his death, was often seen cuddling the canine, which was always impeccably dressed."

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.