Soap Opera Actor Nick Santino Commits Suicide Over Dog Euthanasia

[kniption]

Soap actor commits suicide after pup's 'forced' euthanasia

A down-on-his-luck soap-opera actor took his own life this week after he was forced to put his beloved dog to sleep under pressure from his Upper West Side condo and became wracked by grief, pals said.

Nick Santino euthanized his dog, Rocco, Tuesday -- on Santino’s 47th birthday. That night, his guilt over the gut-wrenching decision became too much to bear.

“Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend,” a despondent Santino wrote in a suicide note, said close friend Stuart Sarnoff.

“Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn’t deserve this.”

The Brooklyn-born Santino -- a struggling actor whose TV credits include “All My Children” and “Guiding Light” -- adopted Rocco from a shelter several years ago.

The man, raised in an orphanage and foster homes, soon began to write about his pet on Facebook, writing, “I did not rescue Rocco, Rocco rescued me.”

But in 2010, his building at 1 Lincoln Plaza announced strict new dog regulations, including a ban on pit bulls. The ban didn’t apply to pit bulls already in the building, but friends and neighbors said Santino began to be harassed.

“People were complaining about his dog,” said neighbor Kevan Cleary, 63, an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School. “It was open season on him.”

Rocco couldn’t ride in the main elevators and wasn’t allowed to be left in the apartment alone for more than nine hours.

Santino was then threatened with a $250 fine for having a barking dog, neighbors said.

“The dog was not a barker, but somebody complained that the dog would bark,” Cleary said.

“He felt like he was in this battle because he was the only guy in the building with a pit-bull mix,” Cleary added.

Another neighbor, Lia Pettigrew, who runs a pet-care company, said, “Everybody knows that he had been harassed by the building management.”

The building’s management refused to comment.

source -
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/29...#ixzz1kyroNmWN

[Bohring]

I wish he had told them all to go fuck themselves. Or moved.

[Obsolete]

Why was euthanizing him the only option? Why couldn't he have rehomed him, or fucking moved?

[Dakota Valkyrie]

There was obviously more wrong with this guy than feeling guilt about putting the dog down.

If he thought he failed his "best friend" by having him put down, he's failed his family and the rest of his friends even further by putting himself down too.

[TheMorningStar]

There was obviously more wrong with this guy than feeling guilt about putting the dog down.

If he thought he failed his "best friend" by having him put down, he's failed his family and the rest of his friends even further by putting himself down too.

Maybe he had none.

[Marv]

Raised in orphanages and foster homes. A 'down-on-his-luck' actor. Spent his 47th birthday getting his dog killed. Was being harrassed by the apartment managers. Sad story. He was probably depressed at how shitty his life had been/was now and got the dog euthanized in a fit of that depression, and then the guilt of what he had done made him even more depressed so he euthanized himelf.

But as others have said I can't understand why he would get the dog euthanized either. Surely there were better options than 'betraying his best friend'. He could have moved to a friendlier, more tolerant building. He could have asked a friend to have the dog until he found a better place, or if he had no friends, then put the dog in kennels for a while until he moved. I guess maybe his state of mind blinded him from seeing other options.


I do agree with the building managers that Rocco shouldn't have been allowed to be left alone in the aparment for more than 9 hours, tho'. NO dog should be left home alone for that length of time.

[Silvahalo]

Who knows what exactly runs through ones mind when deciding to do such a thing. He obviously felt a good deal of guilt and sorrow. I think those of us who have loved a pet like a family member can get the enormity of his feelings.
It's tragic, very sad.

Rest in peace Nick Santino and Rocco.

[malq]

Why was euthanizing him the only option? Why couldn't he have rehomed him, or fucking moved?

That's the way I see it. In my mind, having to move is better than killing myself. I think there is much more going on than some canine warm fuzzies. It is quite possible his innerchild is gay and he didn't know how to tell his mom. That sounds like a legitimate reason to kill yourself.

I am curious how he killed himself? Did he use the blender?

[Whisper]

bit more

Actor Nick Santino cuddles with his dog, Rocco

http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-exp...tbrain_6413183

[Raptor Jesus]

There was obviously more wrong with this guy than feeling guilt about putting the dog down.

If he thought he failed his "best friend" by having him put down, he's failed his family and the rest of his friends even further by putting himself down too.

This, exactly.

People don't kill themselves over putting a pet to sleep no matter how beloved. It might have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back but there's more to this.

In fact, whoever wrote this article is a jackass for titling it in such a way that people who read it will click on it because they actually believed someone killed themselves solely over a pet.

[Raptor Jesus]

That's the way I see it. In my mind, having to move is better than killing myself. I think there is much more going on than some canine warm fuzzies. It is quite possible his innerchild is gay and he didn't know how to tell his mom. That sounds like a legitimate reason to kill yourself.

I am curious how he killed himself? Did he use the blender?

Maybe he pulled an Elliott Smith. That's killing yourself.

[malq]

In fact, whoever wrote this article is a jackass for titling it in such a way that people who read it will click on it because they actually believed someone killed themselves solely over a pet.

I see your point, but is really a matter of necessity. credible writers on here, follow the story. When Fox news reported it, they basically said the same thing. It is up to the reader to read between the lines once they get into the story.. The shallow ones will take it literally. Kniption is a front page writer and he knows what he is doing, believe me. I think it is actually common practice for creators to use some sort of baiting technique. Oh, and if you hate the way he did that, you should see my titles.. I wildly stretch the truth and sometimes flat out lie. Like I said credible writers follow the story. :D
Peace,Out

[Obsolete]

In fact, whoever wrote this article is a jackass for titling it in such a way that people who read it will click on it because they actually believed someone killed themselves solely over a pet.

This...left me speechless and shaking my head.

[Whisper]

This...left me speechless and shaking my head.

You and me both

[Whisper]

This, exactly.

People don't kill themselves over putting a pet to sleep no matter how beloved. It might have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back but there's more to this.

In fact, whoever wrote this article is a jackass for titling it in such a way that people who read it will click on it because they actually believed someone killed themselves solely over a pet.

Kniption is one of the best writers around

[malq]

You and me both

Wait, for once I was nice and could have been a complete asshole? I never did have a sense for appropriateness.

[Whisper]

Wait, for once I was nice and could have been a complete asshole? I never did have a sense for appropriateness.

lol wasnt talking about you and you know it!!! Brat

[Tundratot]

I think we may need a New Yorker to comment. My understanding of NY is the rents are astronomical, and if this man actually bought his condo, up and leaving may not have seemed like a very reasonable option. He may have had a lot of equity in his home. Meanwhile, he obviously had abandonment issues and depression, which caused him to empathize with his dog. As many of us pet lovers know, pets can (should) be family. You don't kill family over assholery propounded by building managers and shitheaded neighbors. So, it was a betrayal of the most heinous sort.

I wonder if he was able to get someone in to walk the dog during the day, or if he had looked into doggy daycares. Maybe he didn't have the monetary resources . . . ?

[princessgrandma]

Yeah, there had to be more to it. If he was out of work, then maybe he couldn't afford to move, or to sell the condo if he owned it. All these depressing things just piled up and he saw suicide as his only option.

As for writing, kniption is a top of the line writer who knows how to write an article. Obviously, if kniption was chosen to write for the FP (front page, for the uninformed), then we're not talking about some shabby-assed writer. I suppose it's a matter of opinion, but maybe someone should hang around long enough to form an EDUCATED one.

[kniption]

@Whisper and @malq and @princessgrandma and the others who were complimentary are very nice. I appreciate the kudos. I have been away from a decent internet connection since last week and I had no idea this discussion was going on.

I didn't take offense to the comment by @Raptor Jesus that "whoever wrote the article was an idiot for titling it how they did" or whatever. I didn't write this article, of course - I just copied it here. But I did title it more provocatively in the forum post.

The original title was more precise by saying something like "Man commits suicide after dog euthanasia." My saying "Man commits suicide over dog euthansia" linked the two more.

But, that said, I stand by the title. The guy wrote a suicide note saying that he was killing himself because his dog was put down. His friends said he killed himself because the dog was put down. How much more evidence is needed for a title, for god's sake. It's a title. LOL!

The fact is that the guy probably killed himself because he allowed himself to be bullied by a bunch of HOA weenies. ...and, since he was unable to stand up to them and unable to face himself and unable to probably do much else worthwhile in his life, he killed himself. Try putting that into a title!

Titles crack me up. I have spent more time on the title of a front page story than writing the whole story sometimes. The other front page writers have too. Why? Because you want to attract readers without misrepresenting the story and still capture all of the main elements of the story. You end up with these obnoxiously long titles. Those don't work either.

Admittedly, after a while I stopped caring so much. I would get a comment that said, in effect, "Why didn't you put the fact that the killer was wearing only one blue sock in the title? It was an important fact." My answer: "Because then the title would be... the story! Read the story if you want to know the killer's footwear situation!"

Okay. I am having too much fun with this.

So... @Raptor Jesus is fine and, in fact, correct in a very precise marginally OCDish way. I did recast the title in a way suggesting much more that the suicide was a direct result of the dog being killed. Was that the only reason that he killed himself or was it a "tipping point" or "last straw?" I vote last straw. That is why I didn't title it:

"Man Leads Otherwise Happy, Productive, and Rewarding Life Filled with Unending Joy and, After Putting His Dog Down, Decides That - For That Reason And That Reason Only - He Should Commit Suicide."

[TheLittleFriend]

What should I have done in his position, is to give the people a big, nice middle finger.

[Silvahalo]

All I know is @kniption is awesome, writer and otherwise. I couldn't write a decent article if it meant my life. That's why in working with the media i stuck to doing camera work; the most I ever wrote on was for PSA's. Short and simple.

I didn't know Nick Santino or his dog Rocco but my guess is obviously he had a load of trouble on him, not just the obvious stuff we read on. Lossing his dog was probably the final thing that put him over.
I don't find it hard that someone would take their life over a beloved pet. Besides, reading on dd past several years has taught me not to be too surprised over what people kill over and die over.