explosions of vitriol over the last couple of days. lou: and that's it for us tonight. it's been quite a week, hasn't it? diamond and silk, former acting i.c.e. director tom >> they're cars you never heard of. >> he liked to buy unique cars -- kissels, grahams, overlands. he always used to say, "i don't want to meet myself on the road." >> it's a great hobby. keeps you out of the beer joints. >> do you have your foot on the brake, teacher? just in case? >> i haven't jumped out yet. >> these heirs hit a fork in the road... >> so that is a point of contention. do you donate cars here? do you have an auction? >> it's really tough to get every sibling on the same page. >> yeah, i'd say we're no different. >> ...until they hear an emotional voice from the past. >> when we go by his gravesite, he's probably on high spin mode up there. >> it's just money. can't take it with you.

>> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm cruising through boone county, iowa, smack dab in the middle of corn country. i'm here to meet the heirs of a man who left behind dozens and dozens of "orphans." orphan cars, that is. so, what's an orphan car? you're about to find out. >> my name is jerry quam. my father, grant quam, liked to collect orphan cars, which are cars that were manufactured by companies that are no longer in existence today. many of these are rare cars of which there's only a few known to exist. >> i meet up with jerry and his brother john at this modern, climate-controlled barn. what's in the barn? you got tractors, you got horses? >> something better. >> better than that? >> you're gonna love this. >> whoa.

i am in heaven. did you know i love cars? >> i've heard a rumor. >> this is an incredible collection. you inherited this? >> our father's collection. >> i imagine there's a great story behind these cars. >> each and every one. >> these car stories begin right up the road in roland, iowa, where john and jerry's father, grant quam, grew up in the 1920s. >> why was your dad so passionate about cars? >> he grew up on a farm and they were pretty poor, but he'd see people coming into town driving around in these fine cars, and that got him excited about it. >> while grant may not be able to afford these fancy cars, he sure can fix 'em up. >> he had a real knack for fixing things. he was just fascinated with machinery and cars. >> soon enough, the budding mechanic is running a little repair operation out of the farm corncrib. and when he's a teen, grant

finally figures out a way to buy his first car -- using his school lunch money. so cars were more important than food. >> that's probably true. >> when the great depression hits, it devastates farm country and grant's family. >> his father -- they lost the farm and stuff. you know, when he left home, everything he owned was in a shoebox. >> at the same time, hundreds of car manufacturers are losing it all, too. in the early 1900s, nearly 1,800 companies are in the carmaking game. and as late as 1925, some 237 remain. but the depression wipes out a great many of those, with some luxury brands hanging on only to collapse after world war ii. >> cars like the pierce-arrow, peerless, and packard, you don't hear of any of those today. they're all gone. >> so an orphan car is a car with no parents. >> yeah, that's basically right. >> so when grant reaches his mid-50s and starts seeing some real-estate investments pay off,

he's finally able to track down those orphan cars that fascinated him in his youth. >> there's not a lot of fords or chevys. he liked to buy unique cars. he always used to say, "i don't want to meet myself on the road." >> grant's not likely to meet himself on the road driving one of these. not only are his cars from unique manufacturers, many of the particular models are extremely rare, too -- like this 1936 pierce-arrow roadster. >> there's maybe fewer than five that are known to exist of that car. >> i'm totally loving the paint. is it also unique? >> the guy he bought it from liked butter-nut coffee, so he painted the car to look like the butter-nut coffee can. >> grant's 1925 kissel gold bug, made popular by amelia earhart, is just as rare. can i get inside? >> absolutely. >> i'm gonna try to slide in. [ grunts ] wow. you had to be petite.

not so graceful. i could drive this. now you guys know what i like, okay? some of grant's finds are so uncommon, they were thought to have vanished long ago. >> this is a 1934 plymouth phaeton. when he first bought this, a lot of plymouth people here in the u.s. claimed that the car didn't exist. >> what? >> and they said that it was false advertising on the car. but finally, after some background checks, it turned out to be the real deal. >> and here's another rare phaeton, this one supposedly built at the 1934 world's fair in chicago. grant's orphan cars even become the focus of segment on a local public tv program in 1999. did you see the pbs clip when it aired? >> i did. it was a show that they were doing at the time in iowa that

was about people had unique collections. in 2007, grant passes away at the age of 91. >> was he specific with you, jerry, and your family about what he wanted you to do with the cars? >> he never really approached it when we were alive. he never really talked about that. >> do you wish he was more specific? >> yeah, in some ways it would have been better. >> six years later, when their mom, betty, dies, grant's four children -- now "orphans" themselves -- still haven't settled on a plan for their strange inheritance. >> so that is a point of contention. do you donate cars here? do you have an auction? every family has their differences. some want to do this, some want to do that. >> the oldest sibling, john, wants to keep the collection intact. the youngest, jerry, who's gone into collecting, leans that way, too. but the other two siblings, jim and marilyn, don't have the same emotional connection to the

cars and would just as soon sell them. >> we're all pretty independent people. >> that's hard. >> absolutely, it's hard. >> and it won't be getting any easier -- because while grant had plenty of beauties like these, he left behind even more like this. >> i thought, "oh, my gosh, what have i gotten myself into this time?" this was like entering a crime scene almost. >> a crime scene?! we'll walk it, next. >> but first... the answer when we return.

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to help prevent a fall. you can also visit aarpfoundation.org or medicaremadeclear.com/falls. this message was brought to you by unitedhealthcare and aarp foundation. >> there never was an airmobile. o-we-gos were produced in owego, new york, american chocolates in a chocolate factory, and a car without a name thought owners might prefer to title their models themselves. >> grant quam's passion was tracking down orphans -- rare and unusual cars from now-defunct automakers. can you rattle off for me some of the rarer cars in the collection? >> 1925 kissel gold bug. 1911 and a 1913 overland.

1913 studebaker. pierce-arrows, grahams. >> he gathers over 80 unique models, such as this 1920 peerless roadster. >> it was one of the most original cars he's ever bought. it still has the original radiator hoses. they're white because that was the natural color of rubber, and they started to color rubber black later on. >> after grant's death in 2007, his heirs are torn about what to do with their father's unique car pool. do they sell? keep? donate? >> you know, i find, with inheritances, it's really tough to get every sibling on the same page. >> yeah, i'd say we're no different. >> but before any decisions can be made, the family needs to know what the cars are worth. for that, they bring in appraiser jim mcdonald from des moines. he learns grant's hoard of automobiles is spread out among three locations, and not every car looks shiny and new.

this machine shed is jam-packed with grant's junkers, barn finds, and project cars. >> when i first walked into it, i thought, "oh, my gosh, what have i gotten myself into this time?" this was like entering a crime scene almost. a lot of these cars had been sitting for 10, 15, 20 years. this looks like it was last driven in 1956. >> these cars are worth a little, maybe a thousand -- more if they get fixed up. a second building holds about 15 mid-tier-quality cars. jim puts these in the five-figure range. but the real money is in the final storage area, what grant called his "inner sanctum." >> this had his pierce-arrow, it had his auburn, it had his kissel. it had all the better cars. >> jim photographs and grades each one, including this exceptionally rare model, a 1922 detroit electric. >> electric cars were very

much favored by women in the early days of cars. they were popular because women weren't able to crank the cars and get them started. >> i'm in! >> this is the steering wheel. >> really? >> well, kind of. this is like a tiller on a boat. >> okay. >> so if you want to go this direction, you push that way, if you want to go that direction, you pull back here. >> okay, i got it. >> then, this is your speed. here is the brake that works sometimes. >> sometimes, john? >> ready to go? >> yes. >> let's do it. >> the engine turns on with a simple flip of the switch. >> the first click, and there you go. >> oh! yikes. >> there you go. >> oh, slow it down, slow it down, slow it down. >> pull this back. >> i'm an excellent driver. i'm an excellent driver. this is like driver's ed. do you have your foot on the brake, teacher? just in case? >> i haven't jumped out yet. >> going straight is one thing, but now the real challenge -- turning! the turns are not so easy. >> no. you'd do well back in that time period. you'd be the, uh, envy of

the neighborhood. >> whoo-hoo! how'd i do? >> excellent. >> yay! >> better than me. >> sold. including that detroit electric, the appraiser arrives at a total value for the collection of over one million dollars. a nice chunk of change, but even that doesn't shift grant's heirs out of neutral. the siblings need something more to finally settle the dispute on how to handle their father's cars. that's when they receive a message, almost from beyond the grave. that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you.

the answer when we return. ♪it's been a long time coming, coming

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>> he committed the first speeding infraction in the u.s., winding up in jail for driving a breakneck 12 miles per hour down lexington avenue, four over the limit. >> grant quam's four children can't agree on what to do with their strange inheritance -- 80 so-called orphan cars potentially worth over a million dollars. >> jim and marilyn think it's time to sell, but jerry and john would like to see the collection kept together. >> i've had a chance to experience most every car here.

spent a lot of time in these. i've driven most of them through the years. >> it's two against two. something's got to give. how do they decide? they go to the videotape. remember that local-tv piece featuring grant all those years ago? turns out a crucial part of grant's interview was never broadcast. >> it was like a 15-minute segment, but later they offered up the entire raw footage of the shoot. >> they pop the cutting-room-floor footage in the vcr. during the unedited, hour-long interview, grant is asked about many topics that never reach air, including the future of his cherished autos. listen. >> [ laughs ]

>> their father's words end the debate -- the siblings will auction off the cars. >> now, for me personally, um, that was probably a harder pill to swallow. >> did you fight it? >> no. there's a time when things, whether you like it or not, need to happen. my ideal thing would have been not to have sold the cars, but that -- that wasn't gonna work. >> soon after, the family hires auctioneer yvette vanderbrink to handle the sale of their dad's collection. >> my first impression was, wow, this is really a lot of automotive history. >> yvette immediately puts the family to work. she wants as many of the vehicles as possible up and running by the auction. >> so here we are at the farm. this gives you an idea of what we're up against. >> how much work went into getting them ready for auction? >> it's overwhelming to deal with. you got to get the mechanics up working on 'em, you got to get the detail people to come up.

it's a long process. >> despite the challenge, the family brings many back to life. and as the auction nears, the reality of saying goodbye to dad's cars begins to sink in. >> this is a piece of dad. it's very personal to your father. >> yeah. but he always used to say there's time slots in life, right, for different things. and, uh, anyway, this time slot is over, right, so it's time to sell 'em and -- and move on. >> of course there's no telling what grant's unusually rare models might sell for. >> how do you set a price on some of these? >> that is the hard part. how do you find a comp for a '36 pierce when there's never been one sold and there's only five made? >> what do you expect? >> it's really, really hard to know, because as my dad used to say, an auction, you need two buyers that want the car, three is better. >> up next -- which of grant's orphans find a good home... >> at 40, 40, 40. now 5. >> ...and which ones do not.

what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website -- strangeinheritance.com.

>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> in september 2015, the heirs of grant quam are auctioning off their father's treasured fleet of orphan cars. you think you're doing this auction to his satisfaction? >> well, that's a good, good question. we always tease that, uh, when we go by his gravesite, he's probably on high spin mode. >> the biggest concern -- whether the right buyers will make the trek to small-town iowa for these exceedingly rare models. >> it's been a long adventure, nine months of getting ready. so we're kind of anxious to see how this all goes today. >> at 37, now 8. at 38, at 8, at 8. >> auctioneer yvette vanderbrink kicks things off with the heavy hitters. >> we're gonna start with the

better cars and sell them right off the bat, and the reason why i like to do that is, everybody has money and comes to the sale. everybody wants to take the prom queen. >> but some of those prom queens aren't going anywhere without the right bid. >> this is a 1936 pierce-arrow. this also is being sold subject to confirmation. >> this will be the car that tells the tale on the auction. there were some serious players here yesterday looking at it, so we'll see what happens. >> at 35, at 5, at 5. at 35. where are you gonna find one? it's one of five, guys. >> but today, that right buyer doesn't show up. >> okay, folks, that has not met the reserve. if you are interested, come talk to us. >> grant's 1925 kissel gold bug also fails to hit the minimum bid. >> you have to have the right people here, and you never know. we don't want to give the cars away. >> after that distressing start,

they learn they won't have to. the auction picks up speed with the '34 phaeton, said to have been built at the chicago world's fair. >> at 45,000. at 45, 5, 5. at 40,000, let's go. you have to step up your game there. at 51, 1, 1, at 1. at 51,000. it's just money. can't take it with you. sold at $53,000. [ applause ] >> soon after, someone steers away with that detroit electric i drove for 48 grand. >> [ calling ] >> and the auction just keeps rolling. grant's '34 plymouth goes for 45k. his '37 lasalle brings in another 48. a '36 graham fetches 28k,

while this 1913 studebaker sells for 25,000. >> so far it's looking -- looking okay >> now up for bid -- grant's 1920 peerless roadster. >> 60, 60, 60, at 60. at 60,000. now 5. at 65, 5, 5. at 65. now 90. at 90, 90, 90. at 90, at 90,000. now 5. at 95, 5, 5. at 95,000. 1, 1, at 1. at 101. 101,5. sold at $101,000. >> that was surprising because it takes a very special buyer to buy that car. >> by the end of the day, the family hauls in over 700,000 bucks. and with those two big-value cars still left to sell privately in the future, the family believes they'll break the million-dollar mark. >> it's a bittersweet thing. i mean, as i started seeing cars

going out of here, it's kind of reality. but it feels good to see people that love them, and they'll take care of them. >> and isn't that what adopting an orphan is all about? jerry's sure he's done right by his dad, getting his babies into good hands. >> his time slot is over. it's time for another custodian to take ownership and enjoy the car, because sitting inside in a dark building made no sense. they should be out and enjoyed. so we're happy to see that, and he would have too. >> before the auction, jerry quam purchased a few cars from his father's collection. he didn't pick the ones that were the most valuable or rare. in fact, the cars didn't even mesh with his personal car collection. the vehicles simply reminded jerry most of his father. so even after his children have to bid farewell to their dad's precious cars, a part of grant's legacy will live on and stay in the family.

i'm jamie colby for "strange inheritance." thanks so much for watching. and remember... >> it's just money. can't take it with you. >> 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? (bright music)

being with the paralyzed veterans of america, they have shown me so much is possible. (upbeat rock music) and i'll never walk again, but that hasn't stopped my ability to succeed. i went from laying in a hospital bed dying to being a collegiate wheelchair basketball player, a professional wheelchair basketball player, and it started with that one moment where (snapping) there is life. the pva has taught me to be unstoppable in life, never to give up. i'm strong. i am unstoppable because the paralyzed veterans of america is by my side, and for the rest of my life, i will be unstoppable 'cause they are there with me. how many falls i take, i still get back up and play the game. i'm a competitor. paralyzed veterans of america, we.

[shaun] we. [latoy] we are unstoppable. >> 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. ♪ limu emu & doug what do all these people have in common, limu? [ paper rustling ]

exactly, nothing. they're completely different people, that's why they need customized car insurance from liberty mutual. they'll only pay for what they need! [ gargling ] [ coins hitting the desk ] yes, and they could save a ton. you've done it again, limu. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> yvonne eubanks loves her parrot, bogie, who may very well

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. great weekend pergola maria bartiromo is next. . >> happy weekend welcome to the program to analyze the week that was in positioning for the week ahead coming to this weekend from los angeles what a week for a week for earnings and jobs with the global conference and quote beverly hills california over the weekend coming up in just a few minutes my interview with treasury secretary then later blackstone ceo joins me talking about china and the us econom