“Butkus the bullmastiff ended up in Rocky II, and Jimmy Gambina has ended up living the rest of his life as the scapegoat in a story that seems so touching and magical … so long as he isn’t the one sharing it. You’re the guy who took Sly’s dog from him. He wasn’t. He and Stallone haven’t spoken since 2005. The days that Rocky’s cast and crew spent working in Philadelphia would define the film’s staying power. They remain for Gambina a memory laced with pain.

“‘You know what?’ he said one night over the phone. ‘It’s hurt me in a lot of different ways. It’s broken my heart.’”

https://slate.com/culture/2026/11/sylvester-stallone-rocky-balboa-movie-dog-cast-butkus.html