Soap Opera Actor Nick Santino Commits Suicide at 47 after he euthanized pet

[The Straight Story]

Soap Opera Actor Nick Santino Commits Suicide at 47


Brooklyn-born actor Nick Santino committed suicide Wednesday, The New York Post reports.

The soap opera star was wracked with grief after his beloved pit bull Rocco was euthanized Tuesday -- the same day Santino turned 47.

"Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend," Santino wrote in a suicide note, according to close friend Stuart Sarnoff. "Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn't deserve this."

The actor, who appeared on seven episodes of All My Children and six episodes of Guiding Light, had been feeling "harassed" by his building management company, according to his neighbor Lia Pettigrew.

He was allegedly threatened with a $250 fine for having a barking dog, but according to neighbor Kevan Cleary, "the dog was not a barker, but somebody complained that the dog would bark."

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/soap-opera-actor-nick-santino-commits-suicide-at-47--2012281

[seabeyond]

1. that is so very sad. nt

[Ecumenist]

2. Bless his heart...that dog was his family. Poorthing.. He didn't have anyone else.

So cruel that he was forced to euthanise his friend.

[hlthe2b]

3. Oh, how devastating....

I'm in tears thinking of this poor man's pain. How tragic and horrendous that no one could have intervened to help him find a solution for both dog and owner.

[Mz Pip]

4. I don't know what this guys's situation was

but I can think of a few things he could have done other than euthanizing the dog. Dogs can be trained not to bark all the time; he could have moved to a more pet friendly apt, he could have given the dog away to a friend.

Sounds like Santino was depressed and this just put him over the edge.

[Arkansas Granny]

11. That's how it appears to me, also. It's a shame that he was so depressed

that he couldn't find another solution.

[jwirr]

5. I understand some of this. I to this day feel guilty about putting down my dog. What character did

he play on All My Children?

[Justice wanted]

6. I feel for him. may he find peace.

[Journeyman]

7. Just so I understand: Faced with complaints about his healthy dog barking. . .

an animal his immediate neighbors did not believe was a problem barker, he felt the only solution was to euthanize his best friend. Faced with the death of his friend, he believed the only salve for his pain was to forfeit his own life.

If there's a lesson to be learned here, it's that we all need to pay attention to the people we know, keep in contact with them as best we can so we'll know what pain they may be experiencing, and be open to recognizing when they may be at the tipping point. We won't catch them all -- some suicides reach the jumping off point too quickly, with no prior warning -- but if we continually bear in mind how fragile some of us can be we may be able to foresee these tragedies before they happen.

There were other options. There are always other options. It is only when we cease seeking options, and resign ourselves to what we perceive others insist we accept, do we lose sight of ourselves and begin to see no purpose to our efforts. And this is why, as much as possible, we need to be our brother's keeper.

[angstlessk]

8. If it were two humans....it would be called 'murder ....suicide' n/t

[greytdemocrat]

9. I love dogs...

But commit suicide? Sorry, what a moron.

[nobodyspecial]

12. Wow. What empathy

You have obviously never known anyone who is deeply depressed or committed suicide. The dog was simply the last straw. Anyone who was functioning well would have been able to cope and arrive at a better solution than euthanizing the dog in the first place.

I will hand it to you. I have seen comments that see this man's death as fitting punishment for the killing the dog. But you are equally lacking in compassion for both animals and humans.

[Loudmxr]

10. There were two alternatives

1. Move

2. Get a Basenji they don't bark.

I got my Dermot because of a barking problem at the family's house. He joined his sister and my house has been happy since.

I can hear them bark from a block and a half away.

Annoying, strong headed, strong willed, cute little pieces of adorable fluff.

I cannot imagine them dying at my hand .. so I understand the guilt.