Rocky Balboa’s dog in the original Rocky film was named Butkus.
Butkus appears as Rocky’s pet during the early part of the story, when Rocky is a struggling club fighter living in Philadelphia. The dog helps reinforce the character’s modest home life before his unexpected title opportunity.
Butkus was also Sylvester Stallone’s real-life dog. Stallone later said that he had been forced to sell the dog before Rocky was produced because he was short of money, and eventually bought him back after the screenplay sold.
The dog’s name is sometimes overlooked because the major animal-related moment in the series occurs in Rocky II, when Rocky receives a turtle named Cuff and Link. Butkus is specifically Rocky’s dog in the first film.