Sylvester Stallone – legendary actor, creative screenwriter, profound filmmaker, and among everything else, an animal lover.
You may not have imagined the Rambo actor to have such a soft spot for animals, but earlier this week he proved the world wrong by posting the story of his best friend – his dog Butkus. Well actually, if you’ve been following this actor’s career, you’ll know that he never missed an opportunity to talk about his beloved pets.
In previous interviews Sylvester revealed how he got the puppy in the first place in 1969, as well as the antics he pulled.
“We got him when he was about six weeks old. He was a ferocious-looking little devil and when he ate his security blanket we decided to name him after Dick Butkus, possibly the fiercest football player in history. We became very well acquainted, because in addition to me, there was my wife Sasha and another giant dog, all living in the third tiniest apartment in New York.”
In his most recent Instagram post, Stallone explained exactly what went down before his career kicked off, back when he was living in a flophouse and could barely afford to eat himself, yet alone feed a massive Bullmastiff as well.
“we were both , thin , hungry and living in a flophouse above a subway stop, I used to say this apartment had ” … Hot and cold running roaches” anyway there was not much to do except spend time with each other and that’s where I started to learn the craft of screenwriting. Since I never went out, I relied on his companionship , And actually it was his idea to write Rocky, but don’t tell anyone….”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSRM-NWjy3A/?taken-by=officialslystallone
Anyone who owns a Bullmastiff will tell you that these dogs are basically gentle giants. They are able to capture your attention with their big bodies and kind nature. So it came as no surprise that Sylvester had formed such a strong bond with his dog. A bond so strong that it eventually costed him $15K, but he admits that all the money completely payed off.
“Years later when things got even worse I had to sell him for $40 in front of a 7-Eleven store,because I couldn’t afford food, then like A modern day miracle, the screenplay for Rocky sold, and I could buy and buy him back, but the new owner knew I was desperate, and charged me $15,000 … He was worth every penny!”
Luckily, the dynamic duo got to spend a few more years together before the pooch sadly passed away from a heart attack in 1981. However, about a year ago Sylvester made a confession:
“He’s still my desktop wallpaper.”
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