Actor Commits Suicide After Euthanizing Beloved Dog

I would have moved...than put my dog down!

OK, let me get this straight. People in his apartment didn't feel comfortable with the dog. He was threatened with a 250.00 fine because of the barking.  This guy had the option to set the dog up in a kennel, and find a new place to live. Or he had the option of finding a new home for the dog. So, instead of doing that, he KILLS the dog, then kills himself?
People leaving comments are getting angry over his neighbors???
This guy had a perfectly healthy dog put to sleep, instead of finding a new place to live. Or finding people who would have loved to welcome a new dog into their home.
Yeah his neighbors were being ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as him.

look at urgent part 2 and see what happens there all the time , no animal is safe there

I hope those condo board members get dox'd and get blackfaxed and harassed anonymously for the next few months. The story's made it on Tumblr so I expect a moderate backlash.

On a side note, hello from a left coast SFist reader.

Not sure why people feel so bad for this guy. He CHOSE to put his dog to sleep because other people were complaining. If the dog were so important, the complaining wouldn't have driven him to murder his 'best friend'. He clearly had some pretty deep issues going on. I wouldn't kill my dog if there were people protesting outside my house.

This is so sad I am crying!  RIP dear man.  And how horrible that these people taunted this poor man and his dog like this.  It should not be allowed that people treat others like this or enact new rules that are different from when he moved in.  But he should have searched for a foster or another home for the dog rather than killing Rocco.  He could've even considered relocating to LA with Rocco.  Just seems like there were other things at play here.

This story made me laugh... but not as much as the butthurt comments.... oh! so much butthurt!

I have nothing but empathy for him, he seemed truly alone and desperate. He must have felt severely harassed to euthanize the dog on his OWN birthday! That may have driven his mental instability right over the edge. And he DID reach out. To an EX. Not an actual GF, but an ex. Who knows how things ended w/them? If he didn't have enough people in his life he could count on, he may have rationalized that she was the last one he could talk to, and who knows if he was able to even reach her?
Again this is speculation, but I can only assume that people who are hating on Nick Santino never walked a mile in his shoes.
You must not come from broken homes, you may be privileged in many ways, and you may have a support system in place that you just take for granted. Landlord/management harassment can be brutal! Sure you can file complaints and sure you can start a lawsuit under the ADA. Do you know how incredibly long and slow these processes are?! And harassment is extremely hard to prove. The law may be on your side, but getting it to work for you, against extremely rich landlords with armies of lawyers can be near impossible & unbelievably dragged out. I speak from experience.
And finding a quick or even temporary home for a PIt Bull? Are you serious? The most stigmatized dog breed in history! Hundreds are casually euthanized daily because they have ZERO chance of EVER being adopted in a shelter! It's funny that people assume he had the kind friends who would be able to take his dog temporarily.
Mental illness is always stigmatized; people are marginalized. Especially those somewhat in the public eye, like actors. That's aside from all the endless red tape & fighting to get some sort of legal protection for you and your companion animal. 
A rational and privileged person reading an synopsis of the facts can simply conclude that the law will provide and this guy must have obviously did everything wrong. Gee what a loser, gee he's so stupid and I am so logical. Shame on you. Stop judging and start praying to whomever you pray to that people everywhere get help before it's too late. Comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable I say. Work on your OWN problems, develop your heart.
Obviously he was an overly sensitive soul. Poor guy. 
If there is any sort of justice or afterlife he is together with his dog, now existing together in peace. 
RIP.

I am surprised this article garnered so many 'expert' comments. Not.

Wow. It's amazing how vocally repellant dog haters are. Thank God pet lovers outnumber you. I'd like to muzzle and sterilize YOUR kind you add nothing to humanity. If you were in the rubble of 9/11 and a search dog found you you'd feel pretty differently now. Me? I HATE crying babies, screaming kids, yelling spouses, spiked heels on a tile floor in the apartment above me, bass reververating my walls from a neighbor's stereo, cigar smoke invading my living room thru the condo's hall vents, Cuban anything greasy food smells wafting down the hallways because they cook with their doors open ... and this is Miami, FL not NYC. A barking dog? BUY FOAM EARPLUGS. Dogs don't bark unless they hear a noise I highly doubt the high class building he lived in had alot of noise or wasn't built with soundproofing. Knock on your neighbor's door and TALK to them  gosh, what a novelty! Were it me I'd have set up a video camera and recorder to see if my dog was doing what the annonymous accuser(s) claimed or not. If not, let them eat shit. If so? I'd purchase a citronella no bark dollar for him to wear when I wasn't home with him. I think he was home alot with his dog hence very little barking he wasn't a highly sought after actor with a heavy work schedule. As for his mental health? Pure speculation. Antidepressants? Maybe he couldn't take them from side effects. Move? Gosh maybe since he wasn't an 'indemand' actor he had little money for moving purposes and until hs apartment sold which in this economy wouldn't happen he was locked into place. Give to a friend? Hell I rescue dogs and even family members give their beloved mom's best friend to kill shelters vs.keeping them in their golden years after dear old mom passes away and they have her inheritance safely in their grimey hands so it's even less likely a friend will step up. Vets? Majority of vets won't put down a healthy dog however some feel 'if I don't do it he'll just go to another that will so why should I give up the money?' to 'if I don't he'll set it loose in the streets where it'll suffer an inhumane death' so they do. Based on the 1-comment from an actual friend who knew him he was abit 'fragile' emotionally. It's sad he either felt he had no one to turn to or that no one cared or would help. HE HAD THE LAW ON HIS SIDE. It's a damned shame he didnn't file a lawsuit AGAINST management for harrassment. He was entitled to every privilege any other pet owner in that building enjoyed. To lessen the pure evil hatred his fellow condo owners and management company leveled at him he could have had his dog certified as a therapy dog further trumping their antagonistic campaign against him and making it IMPOSSIBLE to continue. Last, he should have sued the condo association, the condo board, each board member individually and the management company I'm sure he could have sourced an attorney to take it on a no pay unless we win basis and what attorney wouldn't have wanted this case it was  a slam dunk against people representing beaucoup dollars. I wish I would have known or met him before he put his dog down and took his life. It sounds like he not only needed a friend, he needed someone with a heart who has compassion and cares about others which NO one in that building and the majority of you cold, feelingless, glass house dwelling rock throwing commenters here obviously lack. Who raised you and with what morales? Reminds me of Christians who profess to love their fellow man and turn the other cheek and all that rubbish while you're nothing more than pitiful hypocrites with such low self esteem and self confidence that it makes you feel like 'Big Men' to put down others. This was a fellow human being who willingly put himself in harms' way after 9/11 to help YOU his fellow New Yorkers and this is how his you repay his unselfishness? You deserve to be ashamed of yourselves. To the few of you who have commented in his support THANK-Q ... it's really a shame NYC doesn't have more folks of your caliber and less hate mongers. My deepest sympathy and condolences to his family members and friends. Know that the take-away from this sad and incomprehensible as it is is aiken to Michael Vick ... this puts a human perspective on BSL and brings to the forefront of our collective conscience the needs to be kinder to neighbors and fight to change irrational, discriminatory laws.

god bless u lee!!!!!

This was a great post but I expect it was too long for people to read.

It's clear that you don't have a good sense of NYC at all.

The apartment that this man was staying in, is what I believe the real-estate term for, "expensive."  So instead of living in this expensive apartment where his dog was not welcomed, he could have moved to a much cheaper one where it was.

He chose not to.  That is now his problem (or, should I say, it was...)

And you sir, are an ass.

I think what you mean is cynical...which is much better than being naive.

Wait, I forgot, last week my roomates complained about my parrot being loud and I had to go put it down.  Hold up while I go kill myself over it.

You insane bro?

No. I'm human. Guess you're not.

Euthanize the dog because of complaints? I never heard of that.

My doctor told me that 47 is the time that mid life crisis typically hits men.  It hit this guy hard.

I'm sorry that the dog was owned by someone who killed it, and I feel bad that someone killed themselves, but the rest is all speculation.  

The Post story feels like they're trying to smush facts in to make you feel bad for this guy, but it's entirely possible that his mental illness led to a cognitive misperception of what was going on around him.  Depression, as well as personality disorders (very common in foster care kids) lead to skewed life views.  Most of the wording in the article read as 'Santino felt that...', not confirmed facts.

Poor, poor dog - he did not deserve or ask for any of this.

i have two pit mixes.  they are fantastic dogs.  i'd move house, hide them, head to canada to protect them from crazies and i'm fairly certain i'd kill someone else before i killed them.  and to all the people who are going to throw all kinds of judgements at this - i also have kids, a job, a spouse, a life.  but i love my dogs.  they would defend me to the death and stand by me more than most friends.  and i'd do the same for them.

Articles like these should have their comments disabled.  I can't understand why ANYONE would judge a person for committing suicide.  We don't know what he's gone through, what's his mental health was like, or what he was thinking that lead up to his decision.

Nick Santino had the law clearly on his side. If you sneak a dog into a no pets building for 90 days, you establish legal rights. But, Nick Santino's dog was openly grandfathered in and he could have easily claimed the dog was needed for his mental illness (depression, anxiety) and therefore protected under the American With Disabilities Act. It would have cost building management a lot of money for years to get his dog out.
If he could afford to live in 1 Lincoln Plaza, he could have consulted with a lawyer.

The length at which people harass others can be mind boggling. Unfortunately, he was emotionally sensitive..it is similar to teenagers in high school who commit suicide. You become pushed to the edge. Some people are better equipped to handle it than others, some people used to be but have been worn down over the years. NY sucks. I had a neighbor who knocked on my door everyday because she said I was making too much noise opening my futon. So I put a carpet under it. Still complained. Then when I got my cats, she said she could hear them running across the floor. She was insane. She even went to the landlord and told him I had someone else living in my apartment (which was perfectly legal). Even after the landlord told her to stop bothering me, she almost broke my door down and I filed 3 police reports against her. Every attempt I made to get her to stop failed. I ended up moving. Some people can't handle situations like that.

The New York City noise code prohibits a dog from barking more than 10 minutes straight between 7am and 10pm, and 5 minutes straight between 10pm-7am. Complaints are responded to with a letter informing the occupant of the code....multiple complaints may be followed up by a visit (you can call 311 or fill out the form online). So yes, his dog most likely did violate the code if his neighbors were complaining, and yes, it's against the law and most likely the house rules for the building. 

However, this guy is an idiot for killing his dog rather than moving elsewhere or bothering to train the dog not to bark. Then killing himself over the first dumb decision.

If his dog had been a foofoo dog like a lhasa apso, chihuahua or yorkie, do you think he would have been harassed that badly??? The answer is no he wouldn't. The media with their if it bleeds, it leads mentality have created a firestorm of publicity surrounding any dog bite/attack/threatening behaviour if they THINK a pitbull is involved. Most people think any stocky, short-haired dog is a pit; they don't have breed standards because their looks vary so widely which encourages people in the above mentioned belief. Dachsunds actually bite more than pits but don't cause the same amount of damage obviously. It is grossly unfair to harass someone because of the type of dog they have. That being said NO-ONE and NOTHING would force I or my husband to put our dogs down, we would rather live in our truck than part with them. I understand how the constant harassment could wear him down and I understand the betrayal he felt after putting Rocco down but suicide is really over the top. He could have moved, it may not have been easy but it could have been done. It's a shame that someone who came from a tough childhood and made a success of his life chose to end it this way. The management and neighbours ought to be ashamed of themselves although I am quite sure they are not. What a bloody waste.

You are one of few voices of seeming sanity and compassion within the comments threads heretofore. It is nice to hear.
Lets summarize what we have so far:

A) Individual from a disadvantaged childhood (an orphan) succeeds in life to the point to be able to afford to live at One Lincoln Plaza. I would suspect that this background would be and was 180° opposed to the privileged, cossetted and entitled mentality of the majority of other tenants. Hmmm.
B) As mentally unbalanced as this poor guy was it pales in relation to the vicious neurotic self absorption of what is probably a coterie over stretched hysterical hyper sensitive women, decorators and antique dealers and their enablers, husbands and the Management Company. Why, because he owned a large dog, and they all figured they were so special they were sure to be attacked, absolutely sure of it. That San Francisco thing...the chimp...big animals....eekk. These people are the type who finish their toilet with a Q-Tip 
C) My sympathy lies completely with this poor guy, Isolated in a community of hostile hyper critical a**holes. Really, consigned to the Service Elevator because of his dog.....WTF and the Management Co. went along with it. 

All these people need to hang their heads in shame, though they doubtlessly have little or none. It is as far as I'm concerned a damn shame this guy didn't just go postal and start working his way up to the roof from the ground floor.

I pick and chose where I live so I can keep my Am-Staff mutt, she is labeled as a pitbull despite being 45lbs and has lived with dogs of all sizes and people of all ages.

It's a shame he put down Rocco, I would have made them evict me instead or found another home for Rocco. I would be devastated if I felt I was forced to put down my dog, but when you chose to get a dog you expect to make compromises and you avoid living situations where this could become a reality.

I won't ever live in a big metropolis because it's not a dog-friendly environment. I live in North Hollywood where there are parks and space to walk my dog without cars and people constantly in our way.

Also, there are humane ways to train a dog not to bark, I have met plenty of dogs that only bark when their master is away, doesn't mean they don't bark.

two separate thoughts:

1.  this dog situation was likely the least of this guy's problems

2.  a barking dog is my least favorite sound in the world.  honestly, if i never heard another dog bark in my life, i would be unbelievably happy.  too many dog owners don't give a fuck if their stupid animal barks 24x7.  these same people leave the animal's shit all over the sidewalk.  the asshole dog owners in this city make it impossible to even give the responsible ones a break.  ban dogs in the city forever.

Two separate thoughts:

1. People like you muck up the planet and waste space.

2. Anyone who has met you thinks: the sound of your voice is my least favorite sound in the world. If I never heard this bozo talk again, how happy I'd be. Maybe some people dont give a flip if this guy talks 24/7. and the same people act like he isn't full of shit even though he is. This ignorant asshole makes it nearly impossible to think there is decency in humanity. Ban this stupid prick from the city, hell-from the planet forever.

So you're pro dogs barking at all hours of the day and shitting all over the sidewalk without the owner bothering to clean it up?

Okay, look-when you put it that way all I can say to answer your question is "no", I am not pro-any of that. Infact I'd agree wholeheartedly with anyone that it is the dog owners responsibility to clean up after their pooches.(myself included)
But to say "Ban dogs in the city forever", is ridiculous, and if you really think about it, it's not the dog's fault for bad behavior as much as it is the owner! 
So why not "ban" people instead?  Infact, why not ban everything that at times is messy, annoying, and loud?  ie: Babies, birds, men, women, parrots, cars, etc.  Might as well just blow up the whole planet earth!

stop breeding dogs and selling them.  we caused their misery

You must know my neighbor. Their dog starts barking at 5am.

You are one miserable human being.

Since when is it customary to euthanize a healthy pet? Don't you think the vet should've taken some sort of discretion when doing this? Maybe Ask some simple questions as to why he wanted to do this to his best friend? Maybe then the veterinarian would have noticed he was depressed and under duress when asking to euthanize his beloved pet.

I'm definitely going to have my dog owner friends deposit as much shit as possible at their front door.

I'd be interested in knowing who the veterinarian was that thought the dog was so agressive that it was okay to euthanize an otherwise healthy dog.  There are plenty of vets here in Manhattan; pet owners should take their business elsewhere.

This is the saddest story I've read in a long time.

Horrible tenants who harass people for dogs barking yet no issue with their toilet flushing, their babies crying, their tvs on etc. nasty ugly people who harassed this man to the point he killed his dog and then out of guilt killed himself.  fucking horrible people as Soledad O'Brien on CNN who harass a tenant for their dogs however they had enough money to fight it.  nasty mean people in this world and yet the kind ones tend to leave this world sooner

Toilet flushing?

I'm guessing he is referring to those thin walled condos where you hear everything.. but yeah, who flushes that much that it becomes an issue? That is kinda hilarious.

wow that is sad.  he should have killed himself first and then the dog could have been adopted...?

no. .he should have just said FU and made them throw him out.  must not have been thinking clearly.

Sad..I do not understand why he wouldn't put the dog up for adoption or try to find a friend to take the dog - OR move ? If the dog was that meaningful why not just move somewhere where he could have a dog.. sad.

EDIT: Didn't read the Post article, mooted my point.

he was mentally ill.  The options you suggest would have been the choices of a sane, rational person.   He was neither

this is proof that all kinds of bullying can drive anyone to a very dark place.  RIP to both the man and his beloved dog.

This really is an awful story.  I agree with those who said there was clearly an underlying depression.  Tremendously sad.

There are things animals can do to help people cope with life and depression that maybe drugs try but fall short.

This had little to do with the dog.  He was obviously a very troubled person.

If this person had some type of mental disability, he could have requested a reasonable accommodation by providing a medical letter from his health care provider.  Any harassment conducted by the management and/or neighbors would have been reason to file a complaint under the American with Disabilities Act or the Fair Housing Act.  Not all pit bulls are vicious and guess what?  The smaller breeds bark more and are much more of a nuisance than the bigger breeds. 

If this guy did have such a hard life growing up and he was a responder during 9/11, he probably did have some emotional trauma.  It's a very sad story indeed.

Gothamist fail: "Nick Santino euthanized Rocco this past Tuesday, on Santino’s 47th birthday, under pressure from his apartment condo to get rid of the dog."

I fail to see the connection between euthanizing the dog and the complaints; it's a pretty extreme jump from "you should probably sell/give away your dog or move" to "kill your dog."  Given the lack of any facts in this article, it's entirely possible the restrictions were reasonable (every owner claims their dogs aren't barkers) and that there were other reasons for Santino to put down his dog (read: terminal and painful illness) and Santino's suicide (read: previous depression/mental illness issues).

How about a little more reporting and a little less sensationalizing at the expense of someone who likely needed help before this incident?

I've owned dogs growing up. I wouldn't have done what he did, but I can understand it.  Especially if you're co-dependent upon the animal, fragile and severely depressed.

anti depressants wasnt working right! should have called his physychiatrist

Just a sad story on many levels.  I am in no place to judge anyone involved as I was not there and do not know anyone involved.  There were alternatives but sometimes we cannot see them.  Commenters who want to judge should keep their opinions to themselves.

Yes, because message boards were only invented for the sole intention of  trying to show sympathy for a guy who refused to move out of a building, and therefore went out and killed both himself and his dog.

Honestly, I'm pretty shocked he's getting as much sympathy on here as it is...

You're right.  I think Gothamist should get rid of their comment section altogether. /sarcasm

1 Lincoln Plaza is an expensive condo, he could have sold the condo and moved somewhere less glamourous,,im not sure why he couldnt move or at least find someone nice to watch his dog while he figures out what to do, but maybe he didnt have anybody to help. so sad,, really tragic story.. Honestly the building management prob r glad hes gone, they sound like the cruelest people.

I knew Nick from an acting class we both took many years ago. We bonded over sharing the same birthday. He was a great guy, an actor who gave his heart to the business, and very fragile yet tough at the same time; his messed up growing up years were difficult for him to overcome. There was  always an underlying sadness to him that made you want to take care of him. I bounced to the west coast for a few years and we lost touch. I hope the assholes at 1 Lincoln Plaza who harassed Nick are consumed with overwhelming guilt and self loathing that eats away at their core. They can rot in hell.

How bout just ... uh.. move.

So unbelievably sad. The world is hard enough everyone -- no need to make it more difficult for others just because you can. Hope 1 Lincoln management and the neighbors who did this re-examine their priorities and change their ways.

those rotten people will find a way to rationalize their own behavior; they'll just write it off by saying the guy was unstable.  they'll never accept responsibility.

Why not try to find a home for the dog? Why the need to euthanize it?

Its exactly ts sort of logic that we despise around here...you're making just too much sense right now!

I wonder this too, do vets put down perfectly healthy dogs who are not ordered to be killed due to some incident such as an attack or bite?

yes.  i know a vet who has adopted pets that were going to be put down for no reason, but a vet like that is rare.  for the most part, vets don't care about animals.  it's a job.  and vet school is mostly about agribusiness.

You clearly don't know anything about veterinarians. Almost every one of them have pets since childhood and most don't work with farm animals.

Um, I think the question "Why the need to kill HIMSELF?" is a little more pressing.

I understand that, but the supposedly the reason he committed suicide was because he euthanized his dog. I'm asking why euthanize the dog?

It's a pitbull mix. They are very very hard to find homes for. From the next post about this, apparently he asked his ex to take the dog in. I have heard of no-kill shelters for pits but I don't know of one in the city.

check out urgent part 2 ,and see what a god aweful place nyc is for animals ,not a safe place for an animal.

:(

all the shelters are kill shelters in nyc ,it is a  hellhole for animals there ,they euthanize between 6 - 16 dogs every day of the wk and guess what they are most likely pitbull mixes ,so sad ,new york city need  towake up with how animals are treated ,seeing that it is the richest city in the us , sicking .

Maybe it's not the full measure of the reason for committing suicide.

Very sad :(

Poor guy was really messed up...an orphan and a 9/11 responder? He had a tough life and he didn't consider how important the dog was to him as a companion. I really feel for him. This is a very tragic story all around.

i guess one lincoln plaza is as ugly on the inside as it is on the outside.

That guy looks vaguely familiar from the Reebok Club.  Or maybe I'm mistaken.

Even when your dog is gravely ill, putting them down can cause severe guilt, I know personally. I hope these two are reunited somewhere, and unharrassed. RIP.

Sad to hear. I'm betting it was more than putting his beloved pet down.
My deepest condolences to the family.

Thank you human for showing compassion in the comment section.

Seems a bit drastic.

So why didn't he change apt's to one that would be ok with dogs?

right - 'cause moving in ny is as easy as flipping a switch.

do you live here?

It's certainly easier than making a decision to kill yourself.  This guy did it to himself, pure and simple.

I have absolutely no sympathy for him.  My heart goes out to people who genuinely struggle with depression, but when you explicitly state in your suicide letter that this is exactly what motivated your actions...well, quite frankly, it borders on the absurd.

I'm no brain doctor, but I think taking your own life is not something one enters into lightly and does on a whim for stupid reasons.

Right. Because suicide notes are where you really analyze and lay out the thought processes of a clearly rational mind.  What people write down in suicide notes are exactly what you should use to judge their motivations.

I feel like this is all anyone has to go on...I mean, if you choose not to articulate precisely why you made this decision, that's your own damn fault.

I know for a fact that if I ever came to this decision, I would make it precisely clear (or at least as close to it as possible) how it came to be.  You owe at least that much to your close friends and family.

Yes I do live here.  moving anywhere is not easy. But if it came down to either moving or having to euthanize my best friend for no other reason other than the apt I lived in wasn't cool with it, and that would make me so depressed I might shoot myself, I would call Ben Hur.  

I shall call you Virgilsnarkwell.

virgilsnarkwell. nicely done.

but, to you larger point, you can't look at this through the lens of someone who's, you know, 100% not crazy. (note that i said the neighbors have dog, and not soap actor, blood on their hands.)

Why not give your dog to a trusted friend who can handle a dog in their apt?  It happens all the time in this city.  We all seem to be in agreement that this guy wasn't all there, but there are so many different ways to handle this that don't require a dead dog.  It's all sort of puzzling to me.

management company should be held accountable for harassment, and 2nd degree manslaughter. this is fucking appalling. 

well cocksucking piece of shit ignorant people, happy? 

PIT BULLS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. PEOPLE ARE.

lol retard

Thank you Ywoogrr for this remark. You truly deserve the air you breathe.

In order for a charge of manslaughter in the second degree to stick, you'd have to convince a jury that the management company or some representative thereof directly caused the guy to kill himself. Even a casual mention of his mental state would make that extremely difficult.

his neighbors have dog blood on their hands. dogs bark, babies cry, and your neighbors have sex - either get used to it or move to long island.

his neighbors? really? i'm pretty sure he made the final decision to kill his own dog.

I "liked" this comment at first thinking you meant that the guy should've moved to long island

I know realize you seem to be defending him.  I know you shouldn't speak bad of the dead, but the dude seems kind of a loser if this is really drove him to the breaking point.  I guess my sympathies go out to the dog in this scenario...the recently deceased soap actor, ehhh, not so much.

Not to mention a bit dim...

If the dog was so insanely precious to him, he could have moved; this wasn't some kind of sudden event that he couldn't avoid.  He settled on killing the dog and himself instead of looking for a new apartment.

There are reasonable hours for all these things.  This guy just needed to find the perspective he sorely lacked.