NY - Forced to euthanize dog, struggling NYC actor kills self

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'I betrayed my best friend': Soap actor commits suicide after strict building management 'forced him to put down dog'
A struggling New York soap opera actor was found dead in his apartment days after putting down his dog.

Nick Santino was discovered by police in his Upper West Side bedroom on his 47th birthday. Neighbours said he was devastated that he had to put down his pit bull after his building enforced harsh new laws against the breed.

He euthanized his dog Rocco on Tuesday. In a suicide note, he wrote: ‘Today I betrayed my best friend. Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn’t deserve this.’
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the rest of the sad tale at Daily Mail link above, with pictures
 
That is just too sad.
Why didn't he just move somewhere else?? I know it's hard to find an affordable apt. in NYC, but there had to be another solution to this problem.
 
Yeah, I thought about putting the "forced" in the thread title in quotes, but was just too sad to really consider it.
 
Yeah, I think there's more to this story than just condo rules.

That doesn't make it any less sad.
 
This is so sad! I feel like some of you that there is more to the story.
 
Although I'm not a big fan of the breed, or moreso, the owners who gave the breed the bad name they have, it saddens me when any animal is put down or suffers, and I think I can relate to how this young man must have felt at the time.
I hope he and Rocco are reunited now.
 
Very sad and I agree there has to be more to the story.

When I first saw the building no longer allowed the breed and before I read current dog owners were "grandfathered in", my immediate thought was why not a rescue group?

It's really not as if euthanisizing the dog was the only option.

However, this too was mentioned in the article. Could be heresay as the vet was not directly quoted.

Though a veterinarian told Santino that his dog was becoming increasingly more aggressive, dog owner James Steven Grand said: ‘Rocco was the sweetest dog in the world. Rocco wouldn’t hurt a fly.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ding-management-forced-dog.html#ixzz1knKq4k5I
 
Another thought. I have to wonder about the comment from the vet. Most animals aren't exactly thrilled with going to the vet. Most hate it. My cat became "increasingly aggressive" when at the vet. She once bit me so hard it sliced my finger so badly it took a long time to stop the bleeding. (shortly before she urinated all over herself and the table she was so mad.) However her behavior at the vets was in no way reflective of her behavior outside of the vet. In fact, she was a lap cat and would jump on anyones lap anytime we had company just thrilled she had someone to spoil her besides me.

I don't think I put much stock into a comment from a vet about how an animal behaves at an animal hospital.
 
I am wondering if he had already decided to end his own life,and had his dog put down in preparation. Just wondering.
 
I am wondering if he had already decided to end his own life,and had his dog put down in preparation. Just wondering.

Sadly this may very well be what happened. At least it appears he was severely depressed, perhaps not entirely due to euthanizing Rocco. Or perhaps he felt there was no where else he could move to where he could have Rocco.

Hopefully Nick is at peace now........


So sad.
:(
 
Another thought. I have to wonder about the comment from the vet. Most animals aren't exactly thrilled with going to the vet. Most hate it. My cat became "increasingly aggressive" when at the vet. She once bit me so hard it sliced my finger so badly it took a long time to stop the bleeding. (shortly before she urinated all over herself and the table she was so mad.) However her behavior at the vets was in no way reflective of her behavior outside of the vet. In fact, she was a lap cat and would jump on anyones lap anytime we had company just thrilled she had someone to spoil her besides me.

I don't think I put much stock into a comment from a vet about how an animal behaves at an animal hospital.

But a cat becoming aggressive at the vets might not be as much a problem as a pitbull becoming aggressive at the vets.
 
I am wondering if he had already decided to end his own life,and had his dog put down in preparation. Just wondering.

If that was so, he would have said so in his note, and that's not what he said. I think once the dog was put down the guilt must have become overwhelming.
 
Another thought. I have to wonder about the comment from the vet. Most animals aren't exactly thrilled with going to the vet. Most hate it. My cat became "increasingly aggressive" when at the vet. She once bit me so hard it sliced my finger so badly it took a long time to stop the bleeding. (shortly before she urinated all over herself and the table she was so mad.) However her behavior at the vets was in no way reflective of her behavior outside of the vet. In fact, she was a lap cat and would jump on anyones lap anytime we had company just thrilled she had someone to spoil her besides me.

I don't think I put much stock into a comment from a vet about how an animal behaves at an animal hospital.

bolded by me.

I was thinking along the same lines as you, because my cat who is normally submissive at the vet's, got aggressive one day and they told me she was "cage-aggressive". I knew it was because she was just p-o'd that she had to sit in a cage all day at the vet's while they waited for her to urinate for lab tests! I thought, wow, she could have been labeled for life as "fractious" if it weren't for me telling the vet differently.
 
I discount the unnamed vet's remark for the same reasons suggested above. One of my GSDs has to be muzzled as a precaution when we visit our vet (but not when we see him personally, just when we go to his clinic for other 'things').

One of my cats tolerates 'indignities' she would never permit me to do at home. I've even tried brushing-out her mats on top of the washing machine to simulate the vet's metal table, but no go.

This sad man was obviously troubled by his own demons, whether he disclosed them at the end or not. One thing about suicide: One who commits can write the final chapter without an editor demanding it be complete.

I also do not discount as contributing factors the bad behavior of the bldg management and perhaps his neighbors in harassing him, particularly if he was more vulnerable to such in his mental state.

R.I.P.
 
But a cat becoming aggressive at the vets might not be as much a problem as a pitbull becoming aggressive at the vets.


Which is why vets have muzzles of all sizes. After my cat bit me we used a muzzle on her. It wasn't mean, it was necessary so she could be treated properly. There are muzzles and harnesses to handle animals of all sizes for those who wish to accept all breeds.

How this dog behaved at the vets is in no way reflective of how it behaved in other situations.

Personally, I am not one who supports large dog ownership of any breed in a tiny cramped multi family property. I believe it is unfair to the animal to keep them cooped up in a small area with no private yard. I agree with those who think this breed was targeted. Why not vote on a wt limit for pets rather than selectively target a breed? Any large dog can be dangerous.
 
If that was so, he would have said so in his note, and that's not what he said. I think once the dog was put down the guilt must have become overwhelming.


Not necessarily. A person in the state of mind this man was is not going to be honest about his reasons for hurting himself. If he were able to be honest, he would have sought alternative avenues for both himself and the animal.

Meet a parent just once who tried to have their suicidal child hospitalized tell medical staff they were not going to hurt themself only so they can be released and then succesfully end their life. It's an awaking at how honest persons with untreated severe mental illness can be.
 
I will never understand people who get big dogs and then live in small apartments.

There has to be more to the story. He was not forced, per se, so I don't get it.

He must have been really unstable. Wonder if that person who spoke to him last suspected anything.
 
I don't find the idea that he was forced to put the dog down hard to believe at all. Even if they physically didn't force him, if somebody was complaining that the dog was barking, and he was ordered to pay a fine, wasn't allowed to ride in an elevator, etc, why exactly is it hard to believe? A lot of people are scared of pit bulls. And if he is described as "struggling' then he likely had no money to move somewhere else.
 

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