Did he really kill himself because he failed his dog?

[DutchgirlRN]

(CBS) "Soap opera actor Nick Santino killed himself last week after putting his pet dog to sleep, according to the New York Post".
"The paper reports that the actor put down his beloved 5-year-old pit bull, Rocco and was found dead the next day of an apparent pill overdose".

"Santino, who appeared in roles on "Guiding Light" and "All My Children," reportedly left behind a suicide note in which he said he "betrayed [his] best friend."
"Rocco trusted me and I failed him,"

Nick Santino, soap opera actor, commits suicide after putting pet dog to sleep - Celebrity Circuit - CBS News

[Poliopioneer]

Depite all the glamor and glitz, the life of celebrities can be horribly lonely, what with all the empty, hollow "friendships" going on. If he felt anywhere near toward what I feel for my cats, I can well understand this. I, however, would tell the damned condo management to take their rules (and the entire building, for that matter) and stick them where the sun don't shine, sideways. (I'm already breaking their rules by keeping Boudicca hidden. I may have to find a different sort of apartment altogether, since nothing is going to make me give up any of my cats. They're family.)

Truth be told, I'd be less inclined to murder my pet and commit suicide than I would be to simply gather up my family and my dignity, not to mention my rent money, and go elsewhere. A damned shame.

[Dobby'sMomRN]

That's so sad. I can see it, as Poliopioneer said, if he felt for his dog the way I love my Dobby.

I think it was probably a triggering event for an underlying emotional illness, e.g. depression.

[Poliopioneer]

I wouldn't be surprised if the depression had been there all along, and this was a proberbial last straw. Depression runs in my family (at least I didn't get anxiety from my mother's side), and has plagued me from childhood. I refuse to take meds, but that's a long story in itself. I actually consider my cats to be companion animals, in that depression doesn't stand a chance with them around, and with my responsibilities to them. I'll bet this poor guy was screaming for help, silently, for years.

[Sabby]

I so agree with you Mim, what a very sad story and I can fully understand how remorseful this dear man felt. My heart grieves for them both and I pray they are both together in heaven. I am sure Rocco was waiting at the rainbow bridge for Nick.

[crunch]

How sad. I also think he must have had a huge underlying depression that kept him from taking positive action such as moving.

That said, at least he kindly and caringly put his dog too sleep rather than abandoning it or dumping it as so many do.

I think sometimes with a breed that has been abused and inbred so much like this that is the only thing you can do.

I hope if there is a heaven he and his beloved dog are there now.

[DutchgirlRN]

I agree too that he must have been suffering from depression and perhaps because of it didn't have the energy to move. I still don't understand putting his furbaby to sleep. So sad. This story just broke my heart.

[cjsimpson]

Why didn't he find his dog a home that could accomodate him? I mean what is the real deal of there being only him or death? I don't get it? When my aunt moved to an apartment that didn't allow pets she found her dog a home.

This is one reason I don't like HOA and refuse to buy a home that has one.

[Poliopioneer]

One of the most hideous things about major depression is that it cripples the spirit. It makes a person unable to make simple decisions. (An example would be the case where a person doesn't even get dressed because the simple act of choosing one thing to wear can exacerbate depression with the realization that, in order to choose one thing, you've rejected the others. Don't dismiss this as silly; I have experienced it more than once.) If this is the case, bigger decisions, such as which alternate method of dealing with his dog is the best, are impossible to even contemplate. Depression pulls all your plugs, leaving you much closer to being helpless than I ever want to see again. Maybe the poor guy didn't have a raging temper, like I do, because I think that's what allowed me to get to this point in life.

[psychonurse]

This is a really sad story....I know there have been times that I have been really depressed and the only thing that kept me alive at times was who was going to take care of Max & Maggy...That was before I started back on my Zoloft. I don't understand why he had him put down...he should have found the dog another place to live..I don't really like to talk about pit bulls because both of my dogs have been attacked by them and they were lucky to still be here. But there are a lot of people that would take the dog from him...but I am sure with his depression he just didn't even think about that

I love my two babies andknow what I am going to do with my oldest one dies...he helped me through a very bad time in my life and he still is the greatest thing to me...in fact he is lying right next to me keeping me warm as I write. When Max passes, I am going to have him cremated and when I die they are supposed to put his ashes in my coffin or with me when they cremate me if that is what I decide to do at that time.....

Strange world that we live in...

Sonya