and unseemly. >> and how about. i can't get to it. >> and we'll take up. we'll take up obamacare next time we meet. thank you both for being with us. and good night. amusement park that could be lost forever. >> we're dying on the vine down here. >> "our time is over." that's serious. >> announcer: a divided family on the verge of a painful split... >> no amusement park in the world has been owned by a family as long as this one. >> the family loyalties just tend to get disintegrated. it's just a pattern for disaster. >> announcer: ...and a reprieve from the governor. but will it be enough? >> it's the day after labor day. the amusement park's not open down there. my father is flipping in his grave right now. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]

>> i'm jamie colby, in ocean city, maryland, an irresistible atlantic resort town known for its golden beaches and this historic boardwalk. now, the population may read 7,000, but more than 8 million visit every single year. and i'm here to meet a family that has a strange inheritance that's been an icon on this boardwalk for more than a century. hi, doug. >> hi. >> i'm jamie. >> nice to meet you. >> so nice to see you, too. your family really is so well known here. >> yeah, i'm afraid we are. yeah, we've been here a long time. >> a long time, indeed -- since 1890, to be exact. doug trimper's great-grandparents daniel and margaret trimper purchase two city blocks of oceanfront land. they start with a pair of small hotels but in 1902 decide to risk everything on a new

attraction. daniel wants to bring in a ride unlike any seen before in maryland. he orders a massive carousel from the herschell-spillman company. with a diameter of 51 feet, the merry-go-round is one of the largest built up to that point. how special is the carousel? >> it's pretty unique. there's 48 hand-carved animals on it, with real horsehair tails, and it has oil paintings around the top. i mean, it's just not the sort of thing that's made anymore. >> the carousel is originally powered by a steam engine, and rides costs a nickel. but those nickels add up. when daniel trimper dies in 1929, he leaves ownership of a thriving operation to his seven children, and they pass it on to theirs. under the third generation of trimpers, the park enters its golden era with the leadership of daniel trimper iii and doug's father, granville.

>> my father -- all he ever wanted to do was to run the amusement park. he was the youngest person in the planet's history to own and operate a ferris wheel. >> starting in the 1960s, granville upgrades the park's rides in both scale and theme. in 1964, he commissions a former ringling bros. art director to build a haunted house. granville later opens the trimper's wheels of yesterday attraction -- a fleet of vintage cars that includes a 1914 overland driven by the tv and movie comic jack benny. in the 1980s, he restores the famous carousel and erects the park's first roller coaster. >> he had big ideas for the amusement park. you know, that was his dream. the man was just crazy about amusement rides. >> over the next decades, profits keep climbing. but the park's success is an exception to the rule within the industry. amusement-park historian

jim futrell tells me that, since the 1960s, family-run operations like the trimpers' have become a dying breed. >> with the interstate highways and the shift to corporate theme parks, a lot of the family-owned parks fell by the wayside. >> what does a family-owned amusement park do with that kind of competition? >> well, i think you have to know your place in the market. >> trimper's did seem to know its place, trading on its rich history and tradition. >> no amusement park in the world has been owned by a family as long as this one. >> in the world? >> in the world. and these are rides that have been around for generations, and people come to these shore communities for generations. [ people screaming ] >> but nostalgia must compete with ever wilder thrill rides at bigger parks. trimper's attendance tumbles in the 1990s. then, at the turn of the 21st century, another challenge arrives in the form of another wild ride... the real-estate boom. >> in that decade alone, 15

amusement parks closed throughout the country on the seashore just because the value of their land outstripped the value of the business. >> oceanfront amusement parks across the country are selling out for big paydays. coney island's vintage astroland takes $30 million to build condos. panama city, florida's, miracle strip goes dark in a $15 million deal. >> it's tough to say no to something like that. >> but granville, now in his late 70s and still park president, has zero trouble saying no. he'd much rather hold on tight to his family's boardwalk empire than cash in his tickets. and doug is a chip off the old block. >> you're making people happy, and the thing my dad liked the most about his job was sitting on that bench every night, watching people be happy. >> but after five generations, more and more trimpers share a slice of the pie. and some family members no longer feel the amusement-park

magic. we spoke with one shareholder, who wished not to be named, who told us some owners just feel the business no longer makes sense and think the time's come to sell. joe harrison, one of the trimper family attorneys, says this divide is a common theme among family business. >> trying to keep a business in a family for a long period of time is very difficult. the family loyalties just tend to get disintegrated. it's just a pattern for disaster. >> ownership of trimper's is now split among 7 families, with a total of around 22 stakeholders. doug says two of those families are becoming increasingly vocal about wanting to sell the park to cash in on the real-estate boom. how hard is it to have to deal with a family member who is only saying, "show me the money or else"? >> it was a probably the only thing in my father's life that really caused him any real anguish. >> in 2007, the majority of the

trimpers' family board of directors still want to keep the park open but find themselves backed into a corner. that's because the beachfront-development boom causes the park's property taxes to skyrocket. >> the new property-tax assessments came out, and i was like, "oh, my god," you know? "what's happened here?" our property taxes increased $500,000 at once. our annual profit generally ran, at that time, around $300,000, so it was a -- >> those numbers don't work. >> no, they don't work at all. >> that must have been sad for your dad. >> nobody wants to be the trimper to close the park. he said it wasn't gonna be him, and yet he didn't have any more answers. >> granville and doug know they better come up with some answers if this century-old amusement park is going to make it. >> do you have any idea how many children you have to spin in a circle to pay $1 million of taxes alone? >> that's next.

>> announcer: but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. the answer when we return. copd makes it hard to breathe. so to breathe better, i go with anoro. ♪go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way."

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the answer is "a," military training. >> in 2007, father and son granville and doug trimper are scrambling to keep open their family's century-old amusement park along the boardwalk in ocean city, maryland. the development boom has caused the park's property taxes to soar, making it impossible to stay in business. >> there's only a level of government spending that is sustainable by businesses before the businesses have no more to give. >> the tax hike ups the pressure from trimper family members who think it's finally time to get out of the amusement business and sell their valuable beachfront land. i don't get it, doug. you sell off the amusement business and you build condos and a shopping mall here, you're gonna make 10, 20, maybe 50 times more money!

>> well, i believe that, but my whole family's always been in this business, and it was a legacy that it's we all feel an obligation to try and do our part to continue. >> what, then, about selling some of its attractions, like the wheels of yesterday or even that vintage 1902 carousel, to make way for new thrill rides? jim futrell, who's written a series of books on amusement parks, says some have done that. so, tell me the value of a park like this. >> some of the irreplaceable rides that they have -- you know, the antique carousel, the haunted house -- those things you don't find anymore. they're really living pieces of history. back in the 1980s, they took off as a collectible, and you saw a lot of parks that, at that time, were kind of struggling see that as a way to raise some quick cash. >> collectors have always been especially interested in the ride that put trimper's on the map. oh, my goodness.

only two dozen herschell-spillman carousels are still spinning today, and just five of those include a unique menagerie like the trimpers'. >> what is really wonderful about these rides is that each one of these was carved by a person. so, there is blood, sweat, and tears in each one of these animals. >> and what's this? >> this is a hippocampus. >> a what? >> it's a hippocampus. it's essentially a sea monster. >> is it more valuable because it's so rare? >> i've only known about one or two of these to actually be auctioned off. it could easily go probably six figures back at the peak -- >> six figures?! >> back at the peak of the collecting craze. >> in the end, selling the carousel would be giving up on the trimpers' family legacy, and granville refuses to do that just yet. but he does realize change is needed. and so granville, who had been the heart and soul of the trimper operation since the 1960s, puts doug at the controls. >> my dad was getting on in

years and ill at the time that this happened. i was the next in line to do it, so just started doing what had to be done in order to try and survive. >> doug's first step toward survival? with the help of attorney joe harrison, doug appeals the park's land-value assessment, which was based on sky-high property sales prior to the national real-estate crash. >> it was my job was to try to go ahead and show them that the numbers that they had were just out of whack in that environment at the time. >> doug, meanwhile, takes his fight to the public, writing letters to local newspapers and politicians. >> "do you have any idea how many children you have to spin in a circle to pay $1 million of taxes alone? just how much can anybody bear? people say, 'you ought to put condominiums in down there.' no. we want to run an amusement park. the new county property-tax assessments just came out. they sealed the deal for us.

our time is over." >> "our time is over." that's serious. the public response is overwhelming. politicians across the state jump on the "save trimpers" campaign. even maryland governor martin o'malley tours the park and puts the trimper's land appeal on a fast track. the state assembly goes a step further, taking up a bill that could provide additional relief. will the tax relief come? more importantly, if it does, will the trimpers take it? the surprising answer next, on "strange inheritance." >> announcer: here's another quiz question for you. the answer when we return. you each drive a ford pickup right?

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>> announcer: now the answer to our quiz question. the answer is "b," denmark. >> in 2007, doug trimper is fighting to save his family's century-old amusement park. soaring property taxes are threatening to bankrupt the business. unless doug can get the taxes reduced, his family's board of directors may vote to sell the park. >> those were scary times. we're dying on the vine down here. >> dying on the vine? it had reached that point? >> yes, it had. >> in march of 2008, success -- doug and his lawyer finally get taxes rolled back to 2004 levels, plus about a 4%

increase. you set a really great example for people to not take "no" for an answer. >> well, you can't always save your business, but people in this country have to fight back a little bit at government that has become so big and so controlling. >> government control is the problem doug sees with the maryland state assembly bill that would allow the trimpers to operate as a historic amusement zone. that would lower their taxes further but also lessen their ability to run the business independently. so doug turns the offer down, saying he never wanted special treatment from the government. why not get every penny you're entitled to? >> we've never believed much in entitlements. we just want to be part of the community and do our share and be treated fairly. >> but in october 2008 comes another setback. at the age of 79, doug's father,

granville trimper, dies after a battle with prostate cancer. the fight for the park's future must continue without its most persuasive advocate. doug realizes his father's death could mark a tipping point. when he died, did he leave a will? >> he certainly did. >> what did he want to happen to the park? >> oh, he wanted to continue it. >> but with each generation, park ownership is further diluted. according to one major shareholder, who wished to remain anonymous, some family members would still rather cash out than continue the challenging amusement business. >> there's a feeling by a portion of the corporation that they still needed to do that so that they could cash out and have the money for their own lives. >> they're not the only ones demanding cash. to cover the steep estate taxes that come due after his dad's death, doug must finally sell off at least a piece of his father's legacy --

the classic car museum. how difficult was that? >> that was real difficult. you were glad because we needed the money to help with the estate taxes, but it was really kind of sad to see part of him going out the door, you know? i mean, it was very emotional. >> the 2008 financial crisis, which hits shortly after granville's death, is causing panic around the world and even more anxiety on the boardwalk. if you're sitting on millions' worth of real estate, do you sell, or do you hold? what's your price that you could not refuse to sell the park? 10 times more money than you're taking home a year doesn't mean that much to you? that's next on "strange inheritance." liberty mutual stood with me when i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. i just snapped a photo and got an estimate in 24 hours. my insurance company definitely doesn't have that... you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™ liberty mutual insurance.

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>> announcer: now back to "strange inheritance." >> in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, the driving force behind the trimpers' amusement park, granville trimper, dies, passing along ownership of the

century-old park to his heirs. for now, doug trimper gets to keep running this strange inheritance. but according to doug, some family members are eager to cash out. how often do you hear from that other side of the family? >> we have an annual meeting, and there's still quite an effort to get us to sell the park. >> do they really understand how important it is to you to maintain the legacy that your father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather started? >> th-they really don't. and they can't, 'cause they weren't here. they weren't a part of it. >> what's your answer to them? >> we're sorry, but, uh, we're not ready to give this up. >> what's your price that you could not refuse to sell the park? 10 times more money than you're taking home a year doesn't mean that much to you? >> not to me. i mean, i guess we could have sold out quite a while ago and all have more money, but, uh, it's just not what we want to do. we just -- we love this business.

♪ >> it's memorial day, the official kickoff of the season here on the ocean city boardwalk. and thanks to doug, yet another generation of parkgoers get to enjoy the classic amusements and rides. [ people screaming ] but the battle for the park's survival never really ends. now entering the fray is the next generation of trimpers, including doug's sons, chris and brooks. like their grandfather granville, they vow that they won't be the trimpers who close the park. >> i believe getting our business to the sixth and seventh and eighth and ninth generation is our challenge. >> it's gonna be a long road ahead of us, but i'd rather be on that road than somewhere else. >> hello, trimpers! they'll know they've risen to that challenge so long as they

can keep that grand old carousel installed by their great-great-grandfather running. i think it's time i went for a ride. >> absolutely. >> i like this one, doug. >> well, it's all yours. >> i'm going sidesaddle. all right, brooks! hit it! it's my first carousel ride in 20 years. >> well, i think it's about time, don't you? >> i do, too! i mean, why do i feel 10 again? >> this place will do it to you. >> as i ride the carousel, i cannot help but marvel that i'm spinning in the same circle where kids have spun for more than 100 years -- before a great depression and two world wars, even before the birth of flight. it's also hard not to feel gratitude to the generations of trimpers who have seen this amusement park not just as a family business but as a public trust. in a sense, they've allowed their strange inheritance to be our strange inheritance, too.

♪ granville trimper made it his business to service this carousel every single day. he was a man of tradition. but his legacy almost never was. the carnival kid and high-school valedictorian earned a scholarship to the prestigious sorbonne university in paris, a much higher-powered career in engineering or management calling. but granville turned it down. he was so much more comfortable in his greasy overalls, fixing the rides, than in a suit and tie. so this family-run amusement park lives on and goes strong into its second century, leaving five generations of trimpers with a heck of a ride. i'm jamie colby for "strange inheritance." thanks so much for joining us, and remember -- you can't take it with you. do you have a "strange inheritance" story

you'd like to share with us? we'd love to hear it! send me an e-mail or go to our website -- strangeinheritance.com. >> a tv hitmaker loves animals. >> he turned that creativity on animal rights, and it was unbelievable. >> one dog he rescues is off-the-charts dangerous. >> if it's a scale from 1 to 10, columbo's a 12. >> when the hollywood owner dies, columbo becomes their strange -- and expensive -- inheritance. >> acupuncture for a dog? i know we're in los angeles, but really? [ dog growls ] >> is it all worth it? >> your kids could get hurt. you're willing to take the risk. >> we made a commitment to healing dogs and showing other families how to do it. >> welcome to the weird world of pet inheritance. >> so, are you leaving your home to the birds? [ bird squawks ]

i'm jamie colby, and, today, i'm in encino, california. will rogers once said, "if there are no dogs in heaven, then when i die, i want to go where they go." but when the owners go first, especially the rich or eccentric ones, it can make for one strange inheritance. >> my name is tyson kilmer. i'm an animal trainer. when one of my clients, sam simon, passed away in march of 2015, i inherited his dog, who is not exactly lassie, marmaduke, or any other lovably harmless pet you've seen on tv. >> hi, kilmers. i'm jamie. >> i'm tyson kilmer. this is my wife, alison. aliyah and tyler. >> how are you? >> i'm great! >> i heard your family has a living, breathing inheritance? >> indeed, we do. we have a cane corso that used to belong to the late, great sam simon.

>> sam simon -- even if you don't recognize the name, you surely know his work as co-developer, with matt groening, of that iconic and long-running tv show, "the simpsons." sam was born in 1955 and grew up in beverly hills, just down the street from groucho marx. after graduating from stanford university, sam catapults his way up in the tv business, becoming a showrunner in 1978 for the hit series "taxi," at the age of 23. >> sam was the youngest showrunner in the history of television, when he was a showrunner on "taxi." >> mark thompson is an l.a. radio host and a long-time friend of simon's. >> to describe him as highly intelligent would be to understate it in the extreme. >> sam works on "barney miller" and "cheers," before teaming up with matt groening on "the simpsons," which premieres on the fox network in 1989. >> matt groening created these

characters and this family, but the universe that the simpsons exist in -- the town, the nuclear power plant, mr. burns, all of these different characters... sam simon was the driving force behind that. >> but in 1993, after four trailblazing seasons, sam decides he wants a life outside of television. before quitting, he negotiates a deal giving him continuous credit as an executive producer and a share of the show's annual profit, to the tune of $30 million a year. sam, now twice divorced with no children, turns his energy to what becomes his calling in life -- saving animals, especially dogs. in 2002, at the cost of several million dollars, he creates this lavish, sprawling dog shelter in malibu. one of the neglected pooches that end up at sam's shelter is a 6-month old cane corso, also known as an italian mastiff, a

breed some people refer to as "a pit bull on steroids." the big canine is quickly deemed too aggressive to stay at the shelter. so sam takes him home and names him columbo, after the rumpled, trench-coat-wearing detective played by peter falk. >> he adored columbo, clearly. i think he was like an offspring almost. he was like a son. >> a son with a nasty disposition. within months, columbo attacks staff members on the simon estate. there are as many as eight biting incidents. he even goes after sam's buddy, howard stern. >> ok, guys, go play! [ dogs barking ] >> so, in 2011, sam contacts tyson kilmer, who has a reputation for working with dangerous breeds. his hollywood clientele includes rob lowe and mike tyson, but none impresses him like sam simon. >> the first meeting he had with sam, tyson came back and went, "i met my hero.

i met a guy that's doing way more than i am with animals." it was a bromance. >> alison kilmer is tyson's wife. >> was it more than just about the dog? >> oh, yeah. tyson knew right away that sam was someone that was gonna mentor him. >> still, tyson hesitates taking the columbo case. why? >> i had stopped working with that breed a few years prior, just because of the volatility and the liability issues around them. >> i'm sure that training aggressive dogs is dangerous. where is columbo on the scale? >> if it's a scale from 1 to 10, columbo's a 12. >> tyson says he makes an exception for columbo, when simon convinces him that health issues, like painful hip dysplasia, explain why he's such a bad dog. so, it's not just behavioral. it's also medicine? >> that's correct. >> simon's already paying for the best veterinary medicine

money can buy. among other things, columbo gets electromagnetic therapy and acupuncture. acupuncture for a dog? i know we're in los angeles, but really? >> this dog has endured so much pain in his legs that this is not some frivolous treatment. >> and the price tag for columbo's first-class care? >> columbo costs approximately $138,000 a year. >> that's a four-year college education. >> the reality is -- i didn't hire these folks. i was just asked to be present while these folks were working. and this work changed my perspective on this dog entirely. ready to go. >> tyson takes over the actual training, hooking up columbo with a partner to keep him in line. >> hey, jamie. i brought my friends. >> i see that, tyson. i hope they'll be my friends. >> they will be your friends. so, kasha's been the one to teach him how he should be responding and reacting in these encounters. >> she's a pit bull. >> she's a pit bull, yes, but she's very fabulously trained. you want to give it a try?

>> i'm willing to try. >> perfect. okay, so, let's start off by showing her a stay. point to the ground. tell her, "okay, down." >> okay, down, kasha. good girl, kasha. >> and now, this is how she smiles. so, it looks like kind of scary. >> oh! you get a rub on the belly! stay. tyson says his hard work and sam's money transform columbo into a loving and much-less-aggressive pet. so, the bottom line is -- you have rehabilitated this dog. >> i would say that this dog is living, at this point, within very acceptable margins for behavior and safety, as long as we continue to put the work in with him daily. >> it's late 2012, when, at 57, sam simon is diagnosed with colorectal cancer. the prognosis -- it's terminal. >> how did sam tell you he was sick? >> [ voice breaking ] he was just sick. >> what happened?

>> you know, he said, you know, "tyson, i'm dying." >> will sam's death sentence also be the end for columbo? >> i was asked to make sure that columbo was taken off the property immediately. >> immediately? >> yes. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. was it roy rogers' trigger... mr. ed... or seabiscuit? the answer when we return. mike and i are both veterans, both served in the navy. i do outrank my husband, not just being in the military, but at home. she thinks she's the boss. she only had me by one grade. we bought our first home together in 2010. his family had used another insurance product but i was like well i've had usaa for a while, why don't we call and check the rates? it was an instant savings and i should've changed a long time ago.

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>> so, what stuffed horse fetched $266,000 at auction? it's "a," trigger, who belonged to roy rogers. >> with the help of his new friend and dog trainer tyson kilmer -- and a year and a half of intense training -- sam simon's rescued 140-pound cane corso is under control. so, you've given columbo a stay of execution. >> nobody else has been bitten, so the first part is amazing. secondly, he's a happier soul. >> but, in 2012, sam's diagnosis of stage-four cancer changes everything. after being told he has only

months to live, "the simpsons" co-developer launches a campaign to save as many animals as he can before he's gone. he brings tyson along for the ride. >> as his body began to fail him, he would be jumping on a learjet and flying off, so somebody had to watch out for him. >> here was sam simon ready to do all of these things that seem unthinkable. he rescued all of these bears from roadside circuses. he shut down a mink farm. >> so, the money is kind of gone. >> you gave it all to peta. >> no, no, no, no, no, no, no. i put in a trust that will be distributed, in perpetuity, to save the children and peta and other organizations. >> fantastic. >> for two years, sam beats the clock, but his disease never relents. >> i got a call that he was in the hospital, and he had summoned for me to come to his bedside. he just said, "i'm sorry to burden you with this, but will you please take my dog?" of course, i said "yes."

>> tyson looked at me and said, "i got to do this for him. if we don't, they're gonna put columbo down." >> tyson also makes sure columbo can stay by sam till the end. >> i was asked to train columbo to climb a set of steps beside sam's bed so that columbo could get up there and sleep with him. columbo was with sam right up until he passed. i was asked to be on the property when he passed to make sure that columbo was taken off the property immediately. >> why immediately? >> well, columbo couldn't be on the property with an influx of people coming in, just because it just wasn't safe. >> arguably even less safe -- bringing this strange inheritance home to your wife and kids. i have to ask you about that. i met him. he's fierce. you let them hang out with columbo? >> supervised. columbo cannot be unsupervised around my children or around anybody. when he's uncomfortable, he's grumpy. you don't want to be anywhere

around him. and i don't want my kids to be anywhere around him. and stay. >> your kids could get hurt. you're willing to take the risk. >> we make all the precautions. we make sure they're never alone with columbo. we make sure that they train him every day. and us, as a family -- we made a commitment to healing dogs and showing other families how to do it. >> a noble commitment, but who's going to pay for columbo's ongoing $138,000-a-year medical care? was there some sort of verbal agreement between you and sam? >> sam just basically said, "listen, don't worry about this. everything's taken care of." >> ruh-roh! is it possible that sam made a promise to tyson he didn't intend to keep? that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you. santa's little helper, the simpsons' family dog, is what breed? the answer in a moment.

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>> so, santa's little helper, the simpsons' family dog, is what breed? the answer is "b," a greyhound homer rescues from the dog track in "the simpsons'" first episode. [ dog growls ] >> the cane corso, or italian mastiff, is an aggressive breed, sometimes called a "pit bull on steroids." columbo, a 140-pounder who belonged to "simpsons" co-developer sam simon, was actually deemed too vicious for simon's dog-rescue shelter. hollywood dog trainer tyson kilmer says one of simon's last requests was that he take columbo when simon died.

>> one thing that sam said is that, "every animal's life has value." >> tyson assumes simon's multi-billion-dollar trust will pay for columbo's costly medical treatments, including acupuncture and electromagnetic therapy. >> was there some sort of verbal agreement between you and sam? >> sam took care of everything while he was alive. when sam said, "will you take columbo?", i didn't say, "hey, how much, buddy?" i just said, "of course. i'll take care of it." >> then, in june 2015, three months after sam's death, tyson learns that those vets and therapists will no longer be paid and all those hollywood-style treatments will be discontinued. tyson reaches out to the executor of the simon trust. now, i'm a dog lover -- don't get me wrong -- but tell me how much you were asking, money-wise, to take care of columbo in the style sam had -- >> i didn't ask for money. i was asking for them to send

the vets over. i wasn't asking for money. >> come on, columbo. >> either way, tyson says he's told there's no money earmarked for columbo. >> i first thought, "it has to be a misunderstanding," but, at some point, you'd think, even if that were the case, they would have an allegiance to what sam would have wanted." >> radio host mark thompson was a longtime friend of simon's. is it possible that sam made a promise to tyson he didn't intend to keep? >> i think the answer is -- of course not, of course not. sam would have wanted money to go for the continued care of columbo. >> the executor of simon's trust doesn't return our phone calls but has ripped tyson in the media. the trustee issued a statement that we got our hands on, and it starts with, "it's truly sad that someone would try to take advantage of sam's generosity to unjustly enrich themselves at the expense of other causes." >> and i'm just an outsider, but the same money that sam was paying for columbo, when sam was

alive, is all tyson is asking for. and it's about his therapy, not a dollar more. i think that's a reasonable request. >> how much is it costing you a month, besides your daily time, to take care of columbo? >> it costs me approximately $9,000, $9,500 a month to take care of him. tyson has custody of a dog that is considered very dangerous. and we have a trustee unwilling to disperse money for the dog's care. end of case? >> if they're willing to go to court, tyson might be able to assert rights on columbo's behalf and get the court to construe the trust. >> underscore "might," says ken kossoff, an l.a. lawyer specializing in pet inheritances. he says it's telling simon apparently did not set up a trust fund to pay for columbo's care, which is allowed under california law. >> you want your trust or any other document to be very clear

that who was ever in charge of the money needs to support the pet. >> case in point -- ken's client in palmdale, california, a widow who wanted to provide for her faithful companions when she was gone. hi, yvonne. i'm jamie. >> jamie, hi. how are you? >> nice to meet you. i heard you're the bird lady. >> i am that. would you like to meet my kids? >> i would like to meet your kids. >> come on. >> oh, thank you. look at all these guys. oh, hello there. who's that? >> he says, "i'm bogie bird." and he says, "i'm the senior bird here." >> bogie is a 34 year-old double yellow-head amazon parrot. while he's older than yvonne's two cockatiels, he's still a youngin' among the parrot breed, who can easily live for 60 years. when yvonne first adopts bogie from a bird sanctuary, in 2013, she worries about making a commitment to a pet that could very well outlive her.

>> at my age, i thought, "how am i gonna make this work out? these guys can live to be 60 years old. i'm not rich." >> so, will bogie become a strange inheritance? yvonne is worried that her cherished parrot will get discarded, like columbo. and what about columbo? >> it must be costing you a fortune. >> columbo's not cheap, and we never, ever, ever, in a million years, thought we'd be here. >> and? >> how can the kilmers get the funds they say they need for his care? >> good boy! you know, i agreed to take sam simon's dog. i didn't agree to take on a billion-dollar estate. >> that's next. what's your strange inheritance story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com.

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outlive her. will bogie get the special care he needs when she's gone? she turns to ken kossoff, who's been creating trusts in los angeles for over 30 years. >> a lot of pet owners do not know that they could plan their estate to include their pets. >> yvonne doesn't just want to make sure her pets always have a caring home. she wants to make sure they have her home. >> the trust provides, immediately, for a caregiver to come in, and this is someone who is familiar with my birds. they will live here in the house, basically rent-free, and they'd take care of the birds. i will take care of the utilities and all on the house. >> that could theoretically last for decades. you understand people will watch this and they'll say, "okay, you're 'the bird lady.'" >> yeah. >> "and you've left this beautiful home to birds." >> yes. i don't care how whacky they think i am. i just want to protect these guys. >> apparently, sam simon wasn't

so clear or emphatic about columbo, and so the executors of "simpsons" co-developer sam simon's billion-dollar trust reportedly have no intention of providing a penny for his care. where does that leave animal trainer tyson kilmer, to whom sam bequeathed the 140-pound mastiff? >> i've never had much interest in anything outside of just seeing columbo cared for. i really don't want to be in court over the next five, six years. i'd far rather raise funds for him and just move on with my life. >> sam was his mentor and hero. and, sometimes, you don't write the script on how it's gonna come out, but we're doing the best we can and we're gonna handle it. >> i wanted to put a call into you to see if i could rely on some support from you guys. >> today, tyson hopes to raise enough funds through a network of friends and supporters to

finance columbo's care. you made a promise. >> absolutely. yeah. >> that's a big promise. >> i'm gonna keep that promise. you know, sam was one of -- he was a mentor to me. he was one of my best friends. i'm gonna honor my word to my friend. >> bogie or columbo can only dream of the fortune of the so-called world's richest pet, a german shepherd who's really rolling in the dough. turns out that when a german countess named carlotta liebenstein died, in 1992, she left a $124 million trust for her trusty pooch, gunther iii. well, when gunther iii met an untimely death, carlotta's riches passed to gunther's son, gunther iv, and by then, the trust was worth $372 million and included a villa in the bahamas and a mansion once owned by madonna. and, at that rate, gunther v could be the first canine billionaire. i'm jamie colby for

"strange inheritance." thanks so much for watching. and remember, you can't take it with you. >> i'm bob massi. for 32 years, i've been practicing law and living in las vegas. i help people with all sorts of real-estate problems, from trying to save their homes to closing major deals. eight years ago, 6,000 people a month moved here, looking for employment and affordable homes. little did anyone know that we would become ground zero for the american real-estate crisis. now, it's a different story. the american dream is back. we're gonna meet real people who faced the same problems as millions across america, and we'll dive deep into a city on the rebound because las vegas was a microcosm of america, and now vegas is back. [ woman vocalizing ]