Gunther's Millions (2023) s01e04 Episode Script
Episode 4
1
[in Italian]
The Daily Mirror did a ranking
of the 20 richest animals in the world.
And on top of that ranking
is a mysterious German shepherd.
Here to tell us the real story of Gunther
is Antonella Signorini.
Thank you, Antonella.
Gunther is a millionaire,
so are you not a millionaire?
I should be the owner of this wealth.
As far as I know,
my dog has inherited nothing.
[dramatic music]
The person who created
the story of the dog
was mainly interested
in generating publicity.
Why my dog?
'Cause I had a close relationship
with the person
who invented this fairy tale.
My dog was used as a circus clown.
[dramatic music]
Maurizio?
[inhales sharply]
[in English] We're rolling.
Sound and video good? Okay.
You know, the last time we spoke,
you told us that you had invented
the Countess' story.
So, this person
that you labeled as a Countess,
was there anyone real behind that story?
Well, I think that,
after so many years
of questions and answers,
I think I need to tell the story as it is,
once forever.
There was a woman
that helped us for tax reasons.
She was a German woman
and a very good friend of my mother.
So it was the perfect person
to take control of the bank accounts
and all the assets in Liechtenstein.
But she never existed
with the name of Carlotta Liebenstein.
[Carla] We cannot say the real name
of this person,
but the story is completely true.
I never met her because,
when I arrived, she was dead already.
But I also know
she was a good friend of Mrs. Mian.
Mrs. Mian,
she's been telling me about this person.
[Aurelien]
So, the son of the Countess existed?
No. No.
That's the only lie we said.
[laughs]
But you should ask Maurizio about that.
[Aurelien] So why do you think
Maurizio invented the story
of the son and the Countess?
[chuckles]
[mouthing] Maurizio.
Where is Maurizio?
[laughs]
It's more realistic if you talk to him.
I mean, I can talk about
all the other things,
but about himself
and projection of himself
and thoughts and everything,
I don't like it.
[Aurelien]
With the suicide story at the age of 26,
is there anything
that you went through when you were 26?
Mm
More or less, yes.
But honestly, there has been a period of,
you know, my life in which
depression was especially strong.
And so, maybe in that moment,
there was a certain fascination for this
for the idea of suicide.
[in Italian] I have been suffering
from depression my whole life.
So, maybe this was a time
where I was caught
in a moment of my own depression.
So, I imagined myself as an avatar.
I imagined myself as a figure
that had certain characteristics,
certain qualities.
Perhaps someone I wanted to be
during a certain phase of my life.
[Aurelien, in English] So, now we know
the Countess is not a countess,
the son of the Countess
is your projection.
So, I'm gonna ask you again,
who was Gunther?
And who was the owner
of the original Gunther?
[Maurizio] Uh
He was the dog of,
at the time, was my girlfriend.
He was the dog of Antonella.
[dance music]
[host, in Italian]
Gunther is here with us.
Here we have Ms. Antonella Signorini,
Gunther's owner, is giving him a snack.
And Maurizio Mian is next to us.
[Antonella] My name is Antonella,
and many years ago,
I met Dr. Maurizio Mian.
Maurizio was one of my father's students.
My father taught art history,
and Maurizio was in one of his classes.
I kept hearing about this student
that was so good, and instinctually,
I didn't like him very much.
Until one day, he invited me out,
and from that moment,
we fell madly in love.
Maurizio was very kind, very sensitive,
and he made me fall in love
also because of his great altruism.
I shared a great love for animals
with him and his family.
Mrs. Gabriella and I used to go
once a month to Pisa's shelters.
We would take four or five dogs,
we would pay to take them,
and then we would
give them up for adoption.
[Maurizio, in English]
When I met Antonella, I was 16, 17.
She loved animals a lot,
and we did many things together.
It was a very good feeling.
Sometimes it's difficult
to express in words.
All of a sudden,
you understand that you are loving someone
and you have been in love
for a long time and did not realize.
You know, yes, I fell in love with this
[chuckles]
dog.
Honestly.
[in Italian] Gunther was mine.
Why is his name Gunther?
Because Gunther
was Brigitte Bardot's husband.
He was a great Latin lover,
a great playboy.
And "the third"
because it was our third German shepherd.
Maurizio immediately
fell in love with this dog.
He adored him.
Basically he was our dog
because we shared everything.
[Maurizio, in English] He was very
affectionate. He was a very special dog.
So, there was a moment
when I really felt that this dog
was my very, very best friend.
Unfortunately, Gunther III became sick.
Became very sick.
[in Italian]
How long have you been with Gunther?
I got Gunther in 1980,
and he got sick in 1984.
University clinicians discovered
it was an almost incurable disease.
The only cure is cortisol.
Because of the cortisol injections,
he developed osteoporosis
and fractured a leg.
So Dr. Mian started intensive care?
I realized he had osteoporosis,
and I started treating him
with some drugs I had been studying
At the time,
I was part of a big group of researchers
at my family's pharmaceutical company.
[in English] So, we used these drugs
that we were studying at that moment,
these phosphiles, alendronate,
and he improved quite a lot.
[in Italian] There was an escalation
of this new treatment,
and the story became a huge success.
[reporter] Gunther has become
the symbol of a unique story of love.
Thanks to him,
there will be more adventures
with happy endings.
Gunther was cured of a terrible illness.
We thought there was nothing
left to do but to put him down.
Often we were on TV and I was asked
about the scientific side of things,
the part about
how the dog was being treated.
[in English] So, I try to drive
the attention of the audience
towards this scientific research
and this group of drugs.
[in Italian] It was more than a promotion,
it was a battle,
because at that time in Italy,
the National Commission was preferential
and promoted certain drugs over others.
The story of the dog
became like a "spin off,"
a kind of shortcut.
The dog started to heal,
and it filled me with joy.
But Maurizio made the dog
the center of all his aspirations.
I started to feel
some resentment towards Maurizio.
[Maurizio] At some point,
we wanted to diversify
our research toward curing depression.
And the Gunther story
was a big boost to get us started.
My dog had been used
as a publicity stunt by Maurizio.
And I can't say anything else.
[Maurizio]
Antonella, in that moment, was upset.
She had a negative response towards me.
After a while,
the story of the dog's miracle cure
stopped gaining traction in the media.
[in English] By 1992, the German woman
friend of my mother was dying.
[in Italian] So, at some point,
I had the idea of leaving
the inheritance to Gunther the dog.
It was also a carefully curated decision,
a financial artifice for taxes.
[in English] So, to make a new approach,
I created the story of the Countess.
[in Italian] Then, everything merged
in the figure of the Countess
and the story of the dog.
[in English] And then all of the media
fell in love with this story
of the Countess and the dog,
and he became
the protagonist of the story.
[in Italian] At that point,
Gunther III was also dying.
But, in the meantime,
a puppy had been born
from the same line as Gunther III,
Gunther IV.
Gunther IV was my dog.
Gunther IV!
[applause]
Gunther IV
is the richest dog in the world.
He inherited
137 million lire from Gunther III,
who inherited the money
from German Countess Carlotta Liebenstein.
[Maurizio, in English]
To keep the story going on,
we always needed to have one dog
that was clearly appointed as the heir.
After the death of Gunther IV,
at that point was Gunther V.
We decided to set up a company.
Its name was Forteriva.
That was mainly
taking care of the breeding
of the bloodline
of future heirs of Gunther.
[violin music]
[Carla] In 2012,
we started with Forteriva.
This company was born to keep
the breeding of Gunther for generation.
We chose
the best guy in the world for that.
He won a lot of awards.
[Alarico] I am Alarico Sgroi.
I have a big, big passion
and this is in
German Shepherd breeding.
This is all my life.
I try to be a good breeder.
I have in my life many, many champions.
I was breeder two times
on the podium on the world show.
The biggest success
was Oprah di Fossombrone.
He was the third in the world at the time.
Many people think
we take two dogs together
and sell the puppies.
This is business, normal business.
But the breeder with heart want more,
want to see a dream.
[Aurelien, in English]
So, are you an artist?
- The Michelangelo of German Shepherds?
- No. No, no, no.
This is more than an artist.
Michelangelo can do pictures,
can do all, but
Not life.
[Aurelien] You mentioned the dog
that was worth a million dollars.
I can't say how much in dollars,
but I can make an example.
A dog like this,
you can buy a villa like mine.
- [Aurelien] A house?
- A house, a villa. We say villa.
A villa is more than house.
Or two Ferraris,
or three Ferraris, or what.
This is my life.
No holidays, no other things,
only training with the dogs,
only show with the dogs.
There are good days and bad days.
This is the life of the breeder.
[Aurelien] Who is Alarico,
and what happened with Forteriva?
[Maurizio]
Alarico is very expert in breeding.
I've known him for so many years.
Alarico, can you hear me?
How are the operations
in the kennels doing?
[Alarico, over speakerphone]
Gunther is in very good condition and
Forteriva at the beginning was
in Italian we call it afisso.
It means a "marque"
For for, you know for dogs
of excellent pedigree.
Then things didn't go well.
Didn't go through.
- [Aurelien] What happened to the kennel?
- Yeah, I'm just I'm not sure.
[mouthing words]
Oh, I'm trying to think of unfortunate
Are you sure you want to put this?
Because this is, like, awful.
[Aurelien]
Yes, there are so many articles about it.
[dramatic music]
[in Italian] My name is Luca Palandri,
and I worked for Alarico Sgroi
from May 2018 until January 2020.
My role was to take care
of the dogs at Alarico's property.
They were dogs of Gunther's bloodline.
At the beginning, things were good.
After 30 minutes,
I was in love with the job.
At first there were 23 dogs.
I had to take them out,
clean their cages, and feed them.
After some time,
I started to realize
the situation I had put myself in.
But I stayed there,
perhaps I stayed too long.
Because I loved the dogs.
[Ginevra] Sugar!
Sugar! Resi, Resi come here.
Resistenza!
Sugar! Marlena!
Marlena, come.
Stop. Lena, here.
Lena, let's go, Marlena.
Sit. Stay.
Stay.
Zule! Zule, come. Good girl, Zule, sit.
I'm Ginevra Dini,
I've been dealing with dogs my whole life.
I've been volunteering
for almost 16 years now.
One day, my friend Francesca called me
and told me that there was a person
who needed help with a bunch of dogs.
I went with my boyfriend,
and there we met the breeder,
Alarico Sgroi.
It was a villa.
The garden was beautiful.
And when they opened the villa to us,
I found a shocking situation.
The dogs were all
inside enclosures built inside the rooms.
And the enclosures were small.
The dogs were very skinny,
very badly kept.
On the ground there was a lot of
there were feces, there was urine.
My boyfriend almost threw up.
He couldn't go in.
[dogs barking]
[dramatic music]
It was completely dark
because there was no light
coming through the windows.
[dogs barking and whining]
They were out of their minds.
They went around in circles so much,
they carved a groove in the floor.
[Luca] At first,
I was afraid to report the situation.
I knew that once I reported it,
I would have to leave my job.
If I left those dogs,
I didn't know what would become of them.
I was working ten hours a day, every day.
Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas.
With dogs,
you can't even take off holidays.
I stopped getting paid,
and from that point on,
things started getting worse and worse.
[barking]
Every ten days,
Alarico started bringing me new dogs
that he kept in two other locations.
I was alone taking care of the dogs.
It was hard to keep up all by myself.
I noticed that Alarico wasn't well
because, at some point,
he asked me to take care of the dogs
he usually took care of himself.
I didn't know
what would happen to the dogs if I left,
so I decided to stay there
as long as I could for the dogs.
[Ginevra] The dogs had to be
Gunther's offspring, Gunther's succession.
But they were nothing
like the real Gunther.
So, the guy who worked there
decided to go to the police
and report the situation.
[Luca] Psychologically,
I couldn't take it anymore.
So, I filed a complaint.
[Ginevra]
The police started to investigate,
and when they saw
the condition of the dogs,
they intervened.
[dogs whining and barking]
[police sirens wailing]
[Luca] All the dogs were seized.
[plaintive music]
[Aurelien, in English]
So now, let me ask you one thing.
We want to know why Forteriva closed.
I can't.
I can't now.
Mm-mm.
[Aurelien] We asked other people.
So, obviously,
we want to also have your side.
What say Maurizio?
[Aurelien] Huh?
What say Maurizio about this story?
[Aurelien] First of all, did you know
that the dogs were neglected?
[Maurizio inhales and clears throat]
[Maurizio, over speakerphone]
Well, I didn't know, because
Okay, okay.
I thought everything
was going enough fine.
In the past, I assure you that Alarico
always kept the situation perfectly well.
I know that something very bad happened,
but this was completely unknown
for everybody.
What do you think happened?
Why do you think things went wrong?
I don't know why.
I can only make suppositions.
Probably Alarico,
this was his personal engagement,
to breed and also sell dogs.
This is my fault, probably.
I did not follow personally,
in depth, what's going on,
and things went out of control.
I probably would have offended my mother.
Forteriva was the most
probably the worst mistake of my life.
[clears throat]
But as soon as I knew, we put a remedy.
I think really our very, very, very best.
We did a lot of efforts.
[dramatic music]
[Lucy, in English] It was a huge shock
to everybody, especially Maurizio.
I mean, we've trusted him
for such a long time with our babies.
[Ginevra, in Italian]
Sgroi is a famous name
that made German Shepherd history.
So why he behaved the way he did,
I don't know.
No matter how many problems
someone might have,
if you love your dogs,
you cannot take your problems out on them.
They've nothing to do with it.
[Carla, in English]
After this bad experience,
we felt like we have to do something
for these dogs.
Those are Gunther's relatives.
It's also our fault.
[in Italian] I can say with great joy that
the dogs have been adopted by families,
and I have to thank all our friends,
like Ginevra and Francesca,
who helped me with all of this.
I took nine or ten
of those dogs right there and then.
Hyah!
Once they recovered from the situation,
they were wonderful dogs,
not just for their beauty,
but for their character.
We saw the difference.
At first,
they were terrified of everything.
Now, they're happy dogs.
They're wonderful.
The Forteriva experience pushed us
to do something more for animals.
[Carla, in English] Hey, Gunther.
Good morning, my love.
[John] We're going to Petite Cay today.
About 36 acres.
It's a beautiful island
with lots of beach on a number of fronts.
You afraid of flying?
- First time on a Yeah.
- First time on a seaplane?
- We got fine tunes.
- [Carla] And, you know, he's quiet, so
Ready, Gunther? Ready.
[Carla laughs]
[John] Here we go.
[lilting music]
[Maurizio]
What a fantastic, fantastic water.
[Carla, in Italian] We came here
to the Bahamas to visit a few islands
because we are really considering
buying one of them
to make an animal sanctuary.
It would be a dream for us to build
a sanctuary
where we can help all animals in need.
[whistles]
Gunther.
[John, in English]
Yeah, this is a really beautiful island.
This is a complete blank slate.
And what's nice about this island
is that they've already got permission
to put roads, roadways in,
and do three or four homes.
And you've got lots of land
for the animals to run around,
which makes this
a perfect spot for your sanctuary.
- Flat land and open.
- [Maurizio] They can go with no danger?
[John] Yeah, there's no poisonous snakes,
so the animals can free-range.
It's always a little harder
to start from scratch,
but the benefit of that
is that you can do exactly what you want.
Some of these are slightly loose,
so be careful.
There's great elevation,
you can see over there.
John, the island, it's up there?
[John] Yeah, it goes
See that long point going out there?
That's part of this island.
[Maurizio] Fantastic.
[Carla]
So, Gunther, what do you think about it?
- Tell us something.
- Wanna run around and play in the jungle?
[Carla] With some iguanas?
- [water lapping]
- [barks]
Gunther.
[laughs] Oh!
[in Italian] All the islands
we have seen are really beautiful.
Now we have to decide
which one will allow us
to build the structures we need.
Here, for sure,
the animals
will be able to live joyful and free.
[ethereal music]
[Carla]
So many emotions during these days, huh?
Do you remember when we met?
By now, I'd say it was 27, 28 years ago.
So many years have passed.
Honestly, in all that time,
I've never stopped.
- I never stopped researching.
- I know.
[Maurizio] Even things that go well
can always go better.
I think you should be happy. Finally.
One has to be able to look
at past mistakes critically
to understand their mistakes.
[man, in English] The Burgundians
are dedicated to creating a lifestyle
which is a perfect lifestyle,
to which enjoyment is paramount.
[in English] Maurizio's whole concept
of science and society
was out in left field.
And it was something new,
it was cutting edge.
[Massimo, in Italian] Maurizio has these
problems of a psychological nature,
but this then has led him to do things
that changed the way
people lived together in a community.
[Valentine] His imagination leads him
to do things others don't.
And then having money,
he can make the things happen,
which is pretty nice, no?
[Michelle, in English] To be free,
to not be worried about boundaries,
Gunther's lifestyle
broadened my horizons, if you will.
Like, I actually became
a lot more open-minded.
And I actually kind of continued
that lifestyle
after I left the group.
And then I kind of just decided
to go into dog-sitting.
So, I am I have a dog boarding business,
and now I'm just a homebody with my dogs.
You know, that's what makes me happy now,
is to be at home with my dogs.
This group and this lifestyle
really stuck with me later in life,
and then I created
the character Garren James,
this travel escort, companion thing,
and I've made
women's lives completely amazing.
And I learned all of that from Maurizio
[Lee] All I've ever wanted to do
is be creative,
and, luckily, I've had this channel
of life that's given to me when the
My friends called me the dog boy.
I loved it when they called me dog boy.
He's a great boss.
I had the best job in the world.
I started with Gunther IV.
I now work for Gunther VI.
I don't know what's next after that,
but I hope I'm working for him.
"Gunther the 12th and Lee Dahlberg."
"Give him a minute,
Lee is walking on a cane."
"But here he comes."
"The oldest boy band member
in the world, Lee Dahlberg."
Maurizio, he paid me for my job.
Of course, I don't give to other people,
he paid me for my job.
My job is expensive
because I was the best.
Number one at this job.
Not "I was," I am the best at this job.
And when this documentary go there,
everybody say, "Oh fuck, who is this guy?"
It's gonna be some clever person's
gonna go,
"This is our guy,
can be a new President of the States."
[laughs]
Yes! Yes!
[in Italian] Enough.
I'm done with this shit.
[Aurelien, in English]
Maurizio spent most of his life
doing scientific research on happiness.
Yes.
[Aurelien] Do you think that himself,
has he found happiness?
Is Maurizio happy overall,
or do you think
he will ever find true happiness?
What do you think?
Maybe for rest of the people.
Maybe for somebody else.
[in Italian] Even if he seeks happiness
and the formula for happiness,
he doesn't do it so much for himself,
he does it for other people.
[Aurelien, in English] So, I'm gonna
ask you a very important question.
Have you found happiness yourself?
The fact is that the reality
is that I am a person
with lots of defects.
A bipolar person,
he finds happiness once in a while.
Not forever, not
But nobody
is destined to be happy forever.
In any case,
I need to say that I am satisfied
because I had a great family,
we had great experiences.
You know, my life has been good.
[Aurelien] Do you feel like the story
of Gunther and the Countess
has helped you cope with depression?
I don't know. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe yes.
[Aurelien] Is it one of the reasons you
don't want the story of Gunther to end?
Because it's allowed you
to keep going all these years?
Yes.
Yes.
[Ed] I think everybody
who got involved with this
got into it
because of the charm of the idea.
I personally want to believe
in the story of the Countess,
and I think everybody else wants
to believe in the story of the Countess.
It goes hand-in-hand with the charm
of a dog having so much money.
[Lee] Honestly, was it real,
was it fiction?
Does it matter at this point?
On paper, that dog
is the wealthiest dog in the world.
[Barry] Everybody wants joy,
and once you're blending
reality and fantasy,
you allow for the joy.
After all,
what is a more joyful creature than a dog?
So what the hell
does all this boil down to?
Pay attention.
There are simple things,
and then they get more complex,
enabling people to find, acknowledge,
and receive joy, and share it.
[Aurelien] So, Maurizio, what's the future
for Gunther and the legacy?
Who can Who can Who can say?
I prefer to be positive
and think that, you know,
the principles
of what has been done in the past
will be transmitted to others.
I hope so.
A very lucky dog in Florida
is selling his mansion.
His mansion.
The canine just put the estate,
which was once owned by Madonna,
on the market.
[reporter] It's being "off-furred"
for a jaw-dropping $31.75 million.
[news anchor] The real estate news
made it to Madonna herself,
who wrote on Instagram,
"When you find out a dog
is selling your old house
for three times
the amount you sold it for."
Wow.
I would love to be his human handler.
And if you're wondering what Gunther does
with the rest of his trust fund,
well, he does have his own organization,
and they help animals in need.
[Carla, in Italian]
Maybe we'll finally be able to realize
our dream of having our own island
where animals can live in total freedom.
[Maurizio] We need to show something.
[Carla] Prove we can do it.
[Maurizio] I believe this animal
can be the guide for many
and show humans
a more suitable way to live,
closer to nature,
closer to joy and happiness.
[Carla]
And you, Gunther, what do you say?
Are you happy?
I don't think he's ever felt this good.
He even went on a seaplane.
Well, it's not the last time. For sure.
[Carla, in English]
We will be back soon.
Coming, coming, coming soon.
Coming soon back. Coming back soon.
[man singing in Italian]
[pop music]
- Stop.
- [Aurelien] Yeah?
Come here.
[Aurelien] Hold on. Tell me.
[sighs]
I don't think it's the moment
to tell this now, I don't think.
For these dogs,
I had a strong solution.
What I thought,
what I proposed but never said
because it was too strong to me,
the dogs were cloned.
- [Aurelien] The dogs were cloned?
- Were cloned.
Gunther III, you remember that,
in those times that we are, you know
It's something that I can even not say,
but in reality, they were clones.
That means that Gunther III was cloned.
It's not true. It's not true.
[Aurelien]
Why would you say that?
- Huh?
- Why would you say that?
[Maurizio] It's interesting.
The attendants would be shocked.
- [Aurelien] The audience?
- [Maurizio] "Oh, they are cloning dogs!"
[man singing in Italian]
[in Italian]
The Daily Mirror did a ranking
of the 20 richest animals in the world.
And on top of that ranking
is a mysterious German shepherd.
Here to tell us the real story of Gunther
is Antonella Signorini.
Thank you, Antonella.
Gunther is a millionaire,
so are you not a millionaire?
I should be the owner of this wealth.
As far as I know,
my dog has inherited nothing.
[dramatic music]
The person who created
the story of the dog
was mainly interested
in generating publicity.
Why my dog?
'Cause I had a close relationship
with the person
who invented this fairy tale.
My dog was used as a circus clown.
[dramatic music]
Maurizio?
[inhales sharply]
[in English] We're rolling.
Sound and video good? Okay.
You know, the last time we spoke,
you told us that you had invented
the Countess' story.
So, this person
that you labeled as a Countess,
was there anyone real behind that story?
Well, I think that,
after so many years
of questions and answers,
I think I need to tell the story as it is,
once forever.
There was a woman
that helped us for tax reasons.
She was a German woman
and a very good friend of my mother.
So it was the perfect person
to take control of the bank accounts
and all the assets in Liechtenstein.
But she never existed
with the name of Carlotta Liebenstein.
[Carla] We cannot say the real name
of this person,
but the story is completely true.
I never met her because,
when I arrived, she was dead already.
But I also know
she was a good friend of Mrs. Mian.
Mrs. Mian,
she's been telling me about this person.
[Aurelien]
So, the son of the Countess existed?
No. No.
That's the only lie we said.
[laughs]
But you should ask Maurizio about that.
[Aurelien] So why do you think
Maurizio invented the story
of the son and the Countess?
[chuckles]
[mouthing] Maurizio.
Where is Maurizio?
[laughs]
It's more realistic if you talk to him.
I mean, I can talk about
all the other things,
but about himself
and projection of himself
and thoughts and everything,
I don't like it.
[Aurelien]
With the suicide story at the age of 26,
is there anything
that you went through when you were 26?
Mm
More or less, yes.
But honestly, there has been a period of,
you know, my life in which
depression was especially strong.
And so, maybe in that moment,
there was a certain fascination for this
for the idea of suicide.
[in Italian] I have been suffering
from depression my whole life.
So, maybe this was a time
where I was caught
in a moment of my own depression.
So, I imagined myself as an avatar.
I imagined myself as a figure
that had certain characteristics,
certain qualities.
Perhaps someone I wanted to be
during a certain phase of my life.
[Aurelien, in English] So, now we know
the Countess is not a countess,
the son of the Countess
is your projection.
So, I'm gonna ask you again,
who was Gunther?
And who was the owner
of the original Gunther?
[Maurizio] Uh
He was the dog of,
at the time, was my girlfriend.
He was the dog of Antonella.
[dance music]
[host, in Italian]
Gunther is here with us.
Here we have Ms. Antonella Signorini,
Gunther's owner, is giving him a snack.
And Maurizio Mian is next to us.
[Antonella] My name is Antonella,
and many years ago,
I met Dr. Maurizio Mian.
Maurizio was one of my father's students.
My father taught art history,
and Maurizio was in one of his classes.
I kept hearing about this student
that was so good, and instinctually,
I didn't like him very much.
Until one day, he invited me out,
and from that moment,
we fell madly in love.
Maurizio was very kind, very sensitive,
and he made me fall in love
also because of his great altruism.
I shared a great love for animals
with him and his family.
Mrs. Gabriella and I used to go
once a month to Pisa's shelters.
We would take four or five dogs,
we would pay to take them,
and then we would
give them up for adoption.
[Maurizio, in English]
When I met Antonella, I was 16, 17.
She loved animals a lot,
and we did many things together.
It was a very good feeling.
Sometimes it's difficult
to express in words.
All of a sudden,
you understand that you are loving someone
and you have been in love
for a long time and did not realize.
You know, yes, I fell in love with this
[chuckles]
dog.
Honestly.
[in Italian] Gunther was mine.
Why is his name Gunther?
Because Gunther
was Brigitte Bardot's husband.
He was a great Latin lover,
a great playboy.
And "the third"
because it was our third German shepherd.
Maurizio immediately
fell in love with this dog.
He adored him.
Basically he was our dog
because we shared everything.
[Maurizio, in English] He was very
affectionate. He was a very special dog.
So, there was a moment
when I really felt that this dog
was my very, very best friend.
Unfortunately, Gunther III became sick.
Became very sick.
[in Italian]
How long have you been with Gunther?
I got Gunther in 1980,
and he got sick in 1984.
University clinicians discovered
it was an almost incurable disease.
The only cure is cortisol.
Because of the cortisol injections,
he developed osteoporosis
and fractured a leg.
So Dr. Mian started intensive care?
I realized he had osteoporosis,
and I started treating him
with some drugs I had been studying
At the time,
I was part of a big group of researchers
at my family's pharmaceutical company.
[in English] So, we used these drugs
that we were studying at that moment,
these phosphiles, alendronate,
and he improved quite a lot.
[in Italian] There was an escalation
of this new treatment,
and the story became a huge success.
[reporter] Gunther has become
the symbol of a unique story of love.
Thanks to him,
there will be more adventures
with happy endings.
Gunther was cured of a terrible illness.
We thought there was nothing
left to do but to put him down.
Often we were on TV and I was asked
about the scientific side of things,
the part about
how the dog was being treated.
[in English] So, I try to drive
the attention of the audience
towards this scientific research
and this group of drugs.
[in Italian] It was more than a promotion,
it was a battle,
because at that time in Italy,
the National Commission was preferential
and promoted certain drugs over others.
The story of the dog
became like a "spin off,"
a kind of shortcut.
The dog started to heal,
and it filled me with joy.
But Maurizio made the dog
the center of all his aspirations.
I started to feel
some resentment towards Maurizio.
[Maurizio] At some point,
we wanted to diversify
our research toward curing depression.
And the Gunther story
was a big boost to get us started.
My dog had been used
as a publicity stunt by Maurizio.
And I can't say anything else.
[Maurizio]
Antonella, in that moment, was upset.
She had a negative response towards me.
After a while,
the story of the dog's miracle cure
stopped gaining traction in the media.
[in English] By 1992, the German woman
friend of my mother was dying.
[in Italian] So, at some point,
I had the idea of leaving
the inheritance to Gunther the dog.
It was also a carefully curated decision,
a financial artifice for taxes.
[in English] So, to make a new approach,
I created the story of the Countess.
[in Italian] Then, everything merged
in the figure of the Countess
and the story of the dog.
[in English] And then all of the media
fell in love with this story
of the Countess and the dog,
and he became
the protagonist of the story.
[in Italian] At that point,
Gunther III was also dying.
But, in the meantime,
a puppy had been born
from the same line as Gunther III,
Gunther IV.
Gunther IV was my dog.
Gunther IV!
[applause]
Gunther IV
is the richest dog in the world.
He inherited
137 million lire from Gunther III,
who inherited the money
from German Countess Carlotta Liebenstein.
[Maurizio, in English]
To keep the story going on,
we always needed to have one dog
that was clearly appointed as the heir.
After the death of Gunther IV,
at that point was Gunther V.
We decided to set up a company.
Its name was Forteriva.
That was mainly
taking care of the breeding
of the bloodline
of future heirs of Gunther.
[violin music]
[Carla] In 2012,
we started with Forteriva.
This company was born to keep
the breeding of Gunther for generation.
We chose
the best guy in the world for that.
He won a lot of awards.
[Alarico] I am Alarico Sgroi.
I have a big, big passion
and this is in
German Shepherd breeding.
This is all my life.
I try to be a good breeder.
I have in my life many, many champions.
I was breeder two times
on the podium on the world show.
The biggest success
was Oprah di Fossombrone.
He was the third in the world at the time.
Many people think
we take two dogs together
and sell the puppies.
This is business, normal business.
But the breeder with heart want more,
want to see a dream.
[Aurelien, in English]
So, are you an artist?
- The Michelangelo of German Shepherds?
- No. No, no, no.
This is more than an artist.
Michelangelo can do pictures,
can do all, but
Not life.
[Aurelien] You mentioned the dog
that was worth a million dollars.
I can't say how much in dollars,
but I can make an example.
A dog like this,
you can buy a villa like mine.
- [Aurelien] A house?
- A house, a villa. We say villa.
A villa is more than house.
Or two Ferraris,
or three Ferraris, or what.
This is my life.
No holidays, no other things,
only training with the dogs,
only show with the dogs.
There are good days and bad days.
This is the life of the breeder.
[Aurelien] Who is Alarico,
and what happened with Forteriva?
[Maurizio]
Alarico is very expert in breeding.
I've known him for so many years.
Alarico, can you hear me?
How are the operations
in the kennels doing?
[Alarico, over speakerphone]
Gunther is in very good condition and
Forteriva at the beginning was
in Italian we call it afisso.
It means a "marque"
For for, you know for dogs
of excellent pedigree.
Then things didn't go well.
Didn't go through.
- [Aurelien] What happened to the kennel?
- Yeah, I'm just I'm not sure.
[mouthing words]
Oh, I'm trying to think of unfortunate
Are you sure you want to put this?
Because this is, like, awful.
[Aurelien]
Yes, there are so many articles about it.
[dramatic music]
[in Italian] My name is Luca Palandri,
and I worked for Alarico Sgroi
from May 2018 until January 2020.
My role was to take care
of the dogs at Alarico's property.
They were dogs of Gunther's bloodline.
At the beginning, things were good.
After 30 minutes,
I was in love with the job.
At first there were 23 dogs.
I had to take them out,
clean their cages, and feed them.
After some time,
I started to realize
the situation I had put myself in.
But I stayed there,
perhaps I stayed too long.
Because I loved the dogs.
[Ginevra] Sugar!
Sugar! Resi, Resi come here.
Resistenza!
Sugar! Marlena!
Marlena, come.
Stop. Lena, here.
Lena, let's go, Marlena.
Sit. Stay.
Stay.
Zule! Zule, come. Good girl, Zule, sit.
I'm Ginevra Dini,
I've been dealing with dogs my whole life.
I've been volunteering
for almost 16 years now.
One day, my friend Francesca called me
and told me that there was a person
who needed help with a bunch of dogs.
I went with my boyfriend,
and there we met the breeder,
Alarico Sgroi.
It was a villa.
The garden was beautiful.
And when they opened the villa to us,
I found a shocking situation.
The dogs were all
inside enclosures built inside the rooms.
And the enclosures were small.
The dogs were very skinny,
very badly kept.
On the ground there was a lot of
there were feces, there was urine.
My boyfriend almost threw up.
He couldn't go in.
[dogs barking]
[dramatic music]
It was completely dark
because there was no light
coming through the windows.
[dogs barking and whining]
They were out of their minds.
They went around in circles so much,
they carved a groove in the floor.
[Luca] At first,
I was afraid to report the situation.
I knew that once I reported it,
I would have to leave my job.
If I left those dogs,
I didn't know what would become of them.
I was working ten hours a day, every day.
Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas.
With dogs,
you can't even take off holidays.
I stopped getting paid,
and from that point on,
things started getting worse and worse.
[barking]
Every ten days,
Alarico started bringing me new dogs
that he kept in two other locations.
I was alone taking care of the dogs.
It was hard to keep up all by myself.
I noticed that Alarico wasn't well
because, at some point,
he asked me to take care of the dogs
he usually took care of himself.
I didn't know
what would happen to the dogs if I left,
so I decided to stay there
as long as I could for the dogs.
[Ginevra] The dogs had to be
Gunther's offspring, Gunther's succession.
But they were nothing
like the real Gunther.
So, the guy who worked there
decided to go to the police
and report the situation.
[Luca] Psychologically,
I couldn't take it anymore.
So, I filed a complaint.
[Ginevra]
The police started to investigate,
and when they saw
the condition of the dogs,
they intervened.
[dogs whining and barking]
[police sirens wailing]
[Luca] All the dogs were seized.
[plaintive music]
[Aurelien, in English]
So now, let me ask you one thing.
We want to know why Forteriva closed.
I can't.
I can't now.
Mm-mm.
[Aurelien] We asked other people.
So, obviously,
we want to also have your side.
What say Maurizio?
[Aurelien] Huh?
What say Maurizio about this story?
[Aurelien] First of all, did you know
that the dogs were neglected?
[Maurizio inhales and clears throat]
[Maurizio, over speakerphone]
Well, I didn't know, because
Okay, okay.
I thought everything
was going enough fine.
In the past, I assure you that Alarico
always kept the situation perfectly well.
I know that something very bad happened,
but this was completely unknown
for everybody.
What do you think happened?
Why do you think things went wrong?
I don't know why.
I can only make suppositions.
Probably Alarico,
this was his personal engagement,
to breed and also sell dogs.
This is my fault, probably.
I did not follow personally,
in depth, what's going on,
and things went out of control.
I probably would have offended my mother.
Forteriva was the most
probably the worst mistake of my life.
[clears throat]
But as soon as I knew, we put a remedy.
I think really our very, very, very best.
We did a lot of efforts.
[dramatic music]
[Lucy, in English] It was a huge shock
to everybody, especially Maurizio.
I mean, we've trusted him
for such a long time with our babies.
[Ginevra, in Italian]
Sgroi is a famous name
that made German Shepherd history.
So why he behaved the way he did,
I don't know.
No matter how many problems
someone might have,
if you love your dogs,
you cannot take your problems out on them.
They've nothing to do with it.
[Carla, in English]
After this bad experience,
we felt like we have to do something
for these dogs.
Those are Gunther's relatives.
It's also our fault.
[in Italian] I can say with great joy that
the dogs have been adopted by families,
and I have to thank all our friends,
like Ginevra and Francesca,
who helped me with all of this.
I took nine or ten
of those dogs right there and then.
Hyah!
Once they recovered from the situation,
they were wonderful dogs,
not just for their beauty,
but for their character.
We saw the difference.
At first,
they were terrified of everything.
Now, they're happy dogs.
They're wonderful.
The Forteriva experience pushed us
to do something more for animals.
[Carla, in English] Hey, Gunther.
Good morning, my love.
[John] We're going to Petite Cay today.
About 36 acres.
It's a beautiful island
with lots of beach on a number of fronts.
You afraid of flying?
- First time on a Yeah.
- First time on a seaplane?
- We got fine tunes.
- [Carla] And, you know, he's quiet, so
Ready, Gunther? Ready.
[Carla laughs]
[John] Here we go.
[lilting music]
[Maurizio]
What a fantastic, fantastic water.
[Carla, in Italian] We came here
to the Bahamas to visit a few islands
because we are really considering
buying one of them
to make an animal sanctuary.
It would be a dream for us to build
a sanctuary
where we can help all animals in need.
[whistles]
Gunther.
[John, in English]
Yeah, this is a really beautiful island.
This is a complete blank slate.
And what's nice about this island
is that they've already got permission
to put roads, roadways in,
and do three or four homes.
And you've got lots of land
for the animals to run around,
which makes this
a perfect spot for your sanctuary.
- Flat land and open.
- [Maurizio] They can go with no danger?
[John] Yeah, there's no poisonous snakes,
so the animals can free-range.
It's always a little harder
to start from scratch,
but the benefit of that
is that you can do exactly what you want.
Some of these are slightly loose,
so be careful.
There's great elevation,
you can see over there.
John, the island, it's up there?
[John] Yeah, it goes
See that long point going out there?
That's part of this island.
[Maurizio] Fantastic.
[Carla]
So, Gunther, what do you think about it?
- Tell us something.
- Wanna run around and play in the jungle?
[Carla] With some iguanas?
- [water lapping]
- [barks]
Gunther.
[laughs] Oh!
[in Italian] All the islands
we have seen are really beautiful.
Now we have to decide
which one will allow us
to build the structures we need.
Here, for sure,
the animals
will be able to live joyful and free.
[ethereal music]
[Carla]
So many emotions during these days, huh?
Do you remember when we met?
By now, I'd say it was 27, 28 years ago.
So many years have passed.
Honestly, in all that time,
I've never stopped.
- I never stopped researching.
- I know.
[Maurizio] Even things that go well
can always go better.
I think you should be happy. Finally.
One has to be able to look
at past mistakes critically
to understand their mistakes.
[man, in English] The Burgundians
are dedicated to creating a lifestyle
which is a perfect lifestyle,
to which enjoyment is paramount.
[in English] Maurizio's whole concept
of science and society
was out in left field.
And it was something new,
it was cutting edge.
[Massimo, in Italian] Maurizio has these
problems of a psychological nature,
but this then has led him to do things
that changed the way
people lived together in a community.
[Valentine] His imagination leads him
to do things others don't.
And then having money,
he can make the things happen,
which is pretty nice, no?
[Michelle, in English] To be free,
to not be worried about boundaries,
Gunther's lifestyle
broadened my horizons, if you will.
Like, I actually became
a lot more open-minded.
And I actually kind of continued
that lifestyle
after I left the group.
And then I kind of just decided
to go into dog-sitting.
So, I am I have a dog boarding business,
and now I'm just a homebody with my dogs.
You know, that's what makes me happy now,
is to be at home with my dogs.
This group and this lifestyle
really stuck with me later in life,
and then I created
the character Garren James,
this travel escort, companion thing,
and I've made
women's lives completely amazing.
And I learned all of that from Maurizio
[Lee] All I've ever wanted to do
is be creative,
and, luckily, I've had this channel
of life that's given to me when the
My friends called me the dog boy.
I loved it when they called me dog boy.
He's a great boss.
I had the best job in the world.
I started with Gunther IV.
I now work for Gunther VI.
I don't know what's next after that,
but I hope I'm working for him.
"Gunther the 12th and Lee Dahlberg."
"Give him a minute,
Lee is walking on a cane."
"But here he comes."
"The oldest boy band member
in the world, Lee Dahlberg."
Maurizio, he paid me for my job.
Of course, I don't give to other people,
he paid me for my job.
My job is expensive
because I was the best.
Number one at this job.
Not "I was," I am the best at this job.
And when this documentary go there,
everybody say, "Oh fuck, who is this guy?"
It's gonna be some clever person's
gonna go,
"This is our guy,
can be a new President of the States."
[laughs]
Yes! Yes!
[in Italian] Enough.
I'm done with this shit.
[Aurelien, in English]
Maurizio spent most of his life
doing scientific research on happiness.
Yes.
[Aurelien] Do you think that himself,
has he found happiness?
Is Maurizio happy overall,
or do you think
he will ever find true happiness?
What do you think?
Maybe for rest of the people.
Maybe for somebody else.
[in Italian] Even if he seeks happiness
and the formula for happiness,
he doesn't do it so much for himself,
he does it for other people.
[Aurelien, in English] So, I'm gonna
ask you a very important question.
Have you found happiness yourself?
The fact is that the reality
is that I am a person
with lots of defects.
A bipolar person,
he finds happiness once in a while.
Not forever, not
But nobody
is destined to be happy forever.
In any case,
I need to say that I am satisfied
because I had a great family,
we had great experiences.
You know, my life has been good.
[Aurelien] Do you feel like the story
of Gunther and the Countess
has helped you cope with depression?
I don't know. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe yes.
[Aurelien] Is it one of the reasons you
don't want the story of Gunther to end?
Because it's allowed you
to keep going all these years?
Yes.
Yes.
[Ed] I think everybody
who got involved with this
got into it
because of the charm of the idea.
I personally want to believe
in the story of the Countess,
and I think everybody else wants
to believe in the story of the Countess.
It goes hand-in-hand with the charm
of a dog having so much money.
[Lee] Honestly, was it real,
was it fiction?
Does it matter at this point?
On paper, that dog
is the wealthiest dog in the world.
[Barry] Everybody wants joy,
and once you're blending
reality and fantasy,
you allow for the joy.
After all,
what is a more joyful creature than a dog?
So what the hell
does all this boil down to?
Pay attention.
There are simple things,
and then they get more complex,
enabling people to find, acknowledge,
and receive joy, and share it.
[Aurelien] So, Maurizio, what's the future
for Gunther and the legacy?
Who can Who can Who can say?
I prefer to be positive
and think that, you know,
the principles
of what has been done in the past
will be transmitted to others.
I hope so.
A very lucky dog in Florida
is selling his mansion.
His mansion.
The canine just put the estate,
which was once owned by Madonna,
on the market.
[reporter] It's being "off-furred"
for a jaw-dropping $31.75 million.
[news anchor] The real estate news
made it to Madonna herself,
who wrote on Instagram,
"When you find out a dog
is selling your old house
for three times
the amount you sold it for."
Wow.
I would love to be his human handler.
And if you're wondering what Gunther does
with the rest of his trust fund,
well, he does have his own organization,
and they help animals in need.
[Carla, in Italian]
Maybe we'll finally be able to realize
our dream of having our own island
where animals can live in total freedom.
[Maurizio] We need to show something.
[Carla] Prove we can do it.
[Maurizio] I believe this animal
can be the guide for many
and show humans
a more suitable way to live,
closer to nature,
closer to joy and happiness.
[Carla]
And you, Gunther, what do you say?
Are you happy?
I don't think he's ever felt this good.
He even went on a seaplane.
Well, it's not the last time. For sure.
[Carla, in English]
We will be back soon.
Coming, coming, coming soon.
Coming soon back. Coming back soon.
[man singing in Italian]
[pop music]
- Stop.
- [Aurelien] Yeah?
Come here.
[Aurelien] Hold on. Tell me.
[sighs]
I don't think it's the moment
to tell this now, I don't think.
For these dogs,
I had a strong solution.
What I thought,
what I proposed but never said
because it was too strong to me,
the dogs were cloned.
- [Aurelien] The dogs were cloned?
- Were cloned.
Gunther III, you remember that,
in those times that we are, you know
It's something that I can even not say,
but in reality, they were clones.
That means that Gunther III was cloned.
It's not true. It's not true.
[Aurelien]
Why would you say that?
- Huh?
- Why would you say that?
[Maurizio] It's interesting.
The attendants would be shocked.
- [Aurelien] The audience?
- [Maurizio] "Oh, they are cloning dogs!"
[man singing in Italian]