This man – and, crucially, his dog – did exist but there are some details of this affair involved that once again teach us that context is key and that the comparison between the case you mentioned and the historical case is not really apt. For while it all started with a dog there was more involved in this affair between Finland and Germany.

To start at the start or lack thereof: The sources we have available do not tell us about how the episode that would develop into a minor diplomatic incident between Finland and Germany in 1940/41 began because they only start in medias res. In the political archive of the foreign ministry in Germany lies a file, signature R 98974, 3/80 bis 4/94, 1941, Volume 10 that holds correspondence between the foreign office of Germany, the German embassy in Finland, the Finnish foreign office, the German consulate in Tammerfors, the Reich Economics Ministry, the IG Farben, and the Reich chancellery. They concern a man and his dog.

The man in question was Tor Borg, 41 years old and known among his friends for his excellent sense of humor. The dog in question was named Jackie, age undetermined, though a German consul in Finland originally had reported that Tor Borg's dog had been named Hitler; a rumor that later turned out to be false.

While the exact beginning of the affair is lost to the mists of time, from what can be gleaned form the correspondence in these files, it most likely started in 1940 when a German consul in Finland duly mailed back to the foreign office a variety of press clippings collected by his subordinates, including one newspaper report about a dog named Hitler that would perform the Hitler salute on command.

The collection of newspaper clippings was fairly rouine and under normal circumstances, this would have at most caused the Germans to post a diplomatic note with the Finns about ensuring that their newspapers would report a bit more German friendly but someone in the foreign ministry caught the name "Tor Borg" in the article and notified the German vice consul, Willy Erkelenz, to investigate further and find out if the Tor Borg, dog owner and noted for his sense of humor, was the same Tor Borg the unknown official in the foreign office was thinking about.

Erkelenz investigated the matter and found out that Tor Borg, dog owner and noted for his sense of humor,was indeed the Tor Borg the foreign office had thought about. The Tor Borg they had been thinking about wasn't just some random Finnish dog owner, noted for his sense of humor. He was also – and this is the crucial piece of context for this whole case – the owner of one of Finland's largest pharmaceutical companies, which was one the largest trading partners of the IG Farben company and supplied the German war effort with crucial pharmaceuticals.

Whether his dog performed the Hitler salute or not was ultimately a secondary concern this affair while the idea that the owner of a company that was one of Germany's most important supplier of pharmaceuticals would harbor anti-Nazi sentiments was a grave concern top the officials of the foreign office and beyond indeed.

This prospect, which in the mind of Nazi officials turned into some Finnish anti-Nazi giving them tainted medicine, scared them so much in fact that they ordered an in-depth investigation into the matter. Borg was interrogated by the consulate and said that "I personally never called my dog by the name Hitler. [...] The basis for this rumor is most likely a family episode from the year of 1933 when my wife had the idea to call this dog Hitler because he would raise his paw in such an odd manner." Borg went on to insist that actions "which could be construed as disrespectful towards the German Reich" were far from his mind and nature.

This apparently was not enough for the Germans and Erkelenz is conducting further investigations. Also, the IG Farben and its sub-companies Bayer hear of the affair. They threaten to boycott Borg and insist on a deeper investigation, including prosecution in front on Finnish courts for being disrespectful to Hitler and for shady business practices. Erkelenz manages to find a witness for the behavior of the dog. Bayer procurator, H. Suchanek, testifies to have witnessed the dog being called Hitler and ordered to perform the salute in 1934 or 1935, apparently under the protest of Suchanek. Another witness, wishing to remain anonymous, testifies to the same thing. Various managers in the Bayer company also write to the foreign office stating that while Borg is ostensibly friendly to the Germans, he is not really a Nazi.

Bayer has their own reasons for that. Writing to the Foreign Office, they state that they would be more than happy to support the political destruction of Borg following this affair, provided the Foreign Office would take care that Bayer would be in a position to buy Borg's company afterwards.

While Erkelenz is quite gung-ho about the prospect, others in the Foreign Office are skeptical and the anonymous witness does not want to testify in front of a court while Suchanek can't recall the details exactly. Fearing further diplomatic problems with Finland shortly before the planned German attack on the Soviet Union, the Reich Chancellery puts a stop to the whole affair deciding not to pursue the matter further, writing "Given that the facts are not entirely clear and the incidents occurred a couple of years ago, no further actions is necessary or welcome."

And none was taken. Borg remained in control of his company and dog Jackie too survived the war. After the death of Jackie, Borg buys two Cocker Spaniel, which survive him for he dies in 1959 at the age of 60. His company, Tampereen Rohdoskauppa Oy, today Tamro Group, is still the largest pharmaceutical in Finland with over 5000 employees. Erkelenz fate after the war on the other hand remains unclear and the German Reich ceased to exist in 1945.

What the whole affair shows is that context is key. Hadn't Borg owned his company, his dog doing the Hitler salute would barely show up as an episode in the historical record. But because Jackie's training could serve as cause for concern and for Bayer, potential cause of profit, it developed into this whole affair. And while I am not familiar with the case of "Count Dankula", I'm pretty convinced that in his case, the context of the whole affair was also considered.