Nick Santino Commits Suicide After Euthanizing His Dog

wow, I'm sorry he's gone, but if you loved your pet that much, why couldn't he have just moved?

Sorry for Nick's passing but I think there was more going on than anyone knew….. My thoughts & prayers go out to his family.

Yes, I do blame the condo board for his suicide. From what I read in the story, they had complaints from other residents about the treatment of pets. I understand how Mr. Santino must have felt. Boards can be very hard in NYC and it's not.
easy to get another apt.Anyone who has lived in NY knows this to be true. Eugenia Renskoff

There was millions of other options to take with the dog besides putting it down and/or committing suicide. Quite obviously this guy was not mentally stable.

I live in NY and its true, its hard to find a place quick

OMG THAT IS SO SAD! HOW TERRIBLE!

Milton are you a doctor? If not, who are you to say if this person was mentally stable or not? Unless you have experienced exactly what this man was experiencing you sir can not comment on his stability. In addition, using the term "There was millions of other options", were you there to offer this enormous list to him? Chances are you were not because the amount is inconceivable. For a person who loved his animal as much as this man did, death had to be the last option. You sir are an Idiot!

I cried while reading this heartbreaking story. I hope that Nick and Rocco are together again. I do blame the board. How heartless can you be to try to separate someone from their bestfriend. I've never lived in New York, but from what I have heard, it's virtually impossible to find an apartment that would allow a dog quickly.

As I sit here, typing this and petting my beloved pit bull, Onyx, I feel very blessed to lived in a place where I can have her and any other animals I want. RIP Rocco and Nick…sending you both white light.

Sorry but if anybody really loved there pet more than anything else, then he should've packed up an moved.

I meant their pet.

Condo boards can be relentless. I owned a condo in FL with 2 cocker spaniels who started howling come daybreak while working the nightshift. One board member was an adjoining neighbor and constantly harrassed me. After seeing a lawyer and being told I had no rights and they could simply force me to vacate, I put the condo up for sale and bought a house after borrowing the down payment and took my beloved dogs with me. It was a horrible, stressful time. Maybe Mr. Santino had no other options, or maybe he just didn't want to live in a world with such pety, hateful people any longer. Just so very sad.

I don't see how an association can change the rule when the pet was already on the premisis. He should have been grandfathered in the old rule. I've never lived in a condo so I wouldn't know for sure. I think the homeowners association should feel somewhat responsible and her response to his death was cold. I also think that there may have been other factors that made him feel that suicide was his only option. I feel sad for his family.

Uh, Really! What the guy did in both cases was STUPID. If they won't let your beloved dog live there- LEAVE. Sounds like this guy had deeper issues to begin with.

This guy had some serious mental issues.

hey condo folks "The man, " as you referenced him has a name – Nick Santino…

I agree with you…he may not have had many options, and Ive neve been to New York, but I certainly wouldnt have put my dog down, let alone off myself. I would have told the board to go get *****, had a relative keep the dog till I could find a place, ect ect. My sister has a 4 yr old Bluenose pitbull, and her old condo started giving her a problem about the pitbu1l, because they are not allowed in Bloomingdale, IL. She kept him, and eventually moved. Personally, after I told the board to go get ******, I would have kept the dog, until it was pryed out of hands. Maybe looked to move if I could…For this guy, and I'm sorry he's gone, to kill himself, there was a little more to the story than we know..just my two cents. -B Pittro, Chicago, IL

In a way this is the natural result of these aberrations only euphemistically termed "tenant boards." In too many cases, the reality is that they are self appointed micro-managers often hell bent on reaching inside peoples homes and lives, just so they can satisfy their limited personal concept of how a community should look and operate. Notice how they pretend they're not responsible when things go wrong, as tragically happened here. Yet supporters of this essentially bad idea will insist that if there were no such thing as tenant boards, the world would somehow become filled with reprobate anarchy. Instead of people like Mr. Santino being told to "move somewhere else," it would be far more reasonable and honest if supporters would simply call it a gated community with set rules from the start instead of justifying their existence with a constant search for yet more ways to control and refine their shared environments.
This is not the first time completely innocent individuals have been pounced on in the name of some “greater good,’ in this case that of a very selective and closed group of ‘elitists.’ In the end, the very purpose of these boards is to insure stability and growth of a properties m o n e t a r y values and not a damn thing else. Living inside of a building is n o t the same thing as living inside another persons life, despite the nosy busy body based opinion to the contrary. All this man did was have a particular breed of pet that was nowhere near anyone’s mind until somebody decided breeds of dog should be some paramount point of hugely important discussion. Boy, to be a fly on t h a t wall.

In a way this is the natural result of these aberrations only euphemistically termed "tenant boards." In too many cases, the reality is that they are self appointed micro-managers often hell bent on reaching inside peoples homes and lives, just so they can satisfy their limited personal concept of how a community should look and operate.
Living inside of a building is n o t the same thing as living inside another persons life, despite the nosy busy body based opinion to the contrary. All Mr. Santino did was have a particular breed of pet that was apparently nowhere near anyone’s mind at a l l until somebody decided particular breeds of dog should be some paramount point of hugely important discussion. Boy, to be a fly on t h a t wall.

He most assuredly did. Suicide takes may things to make manifest, but it only takes a single thing to make the moment happen. Perhaps if these people, who seem so deeply concerned with the quality of their environment, would take as much care to try and actually know their neighbors, like Mr. Santos, we wouldn't be reading this story. In the end the very purpose of these boards is largely to insure stability and growth of a properties m o n e t a r y values and not a damn thing else. To call both of his actions "stupid" is just callous. I don't doubt there are those on this particular board who would completely agree with you.

Not too long ago I read about a non-smoking couple who declined to buy an apartment here in NYC when informed that the building's no-smoking policy also included inside their own apartments. Although it didn't affect them personally, they felt the policy was overreaching.

Kiko Jones In my opinion, I think it's really essential to redefine issues of shared environments, in dense places like cities especially, from the ground up. Much of these sorts of things end up as battles or worse as in this case, because it seems that broader arguments have been allowed to define the terms with 'us or them' as the basic accepted standard.
For example, pit bulls were never a problem or news topics until they became trained tools of the hard drug culture a few decades back. Since then, those "opposed" to them have always found fly-by-night experts to "prove" genetic dangers of this specie, despite the actual differences in life experience. Meanwhile, those owners and breeders who have factual histories without incident or criminal activity have been put on the defensive for owning them simply from the sloppy thinking of 'association.'
As I stated previously, this particular story was one in which a number of people were really needlessly tweaking already understood policy, and none of the reports covering this story seem to have asked why the undeniable and inescapable need for such a change? I would venture the guess that this had more to do with presentation of environment to prospective renters or buyers. "It's a lovely apartment, but I have children and that man has a pit bull." In the end, these sorts of situations and the policies made are about property values. As for Santino's state of mind, that's a whole other 'kettle of fish.' Suicide is a complex thing, but it only takes one simple moment to trigger.
"overreaching" is a bad word in this context. It implies there may be legitimacy to any disagreements as to these sorts of policies.

Oh c'mon, he wasn't in jail. No one was forcing the guy to stay in NY. How many people in the same situation are forced to move and take they pets with them? Put down the dog that you love dearly and kill yourself rather than move? He had deeper problems than finding an apartment in a large city.

maybe he couldn't afford to move?

At least he doesn't have to worry about gas prices. I would've probably attempted to move as many suggested but can't due to certain circumstances. Life just sucks sometimes.

Kenny Ambiance-Are you friggin' kidding me? "He doesn't have to worry about gas prices?" What kind of comment is that? This man just killed himself, obviuously, because of severe emotional problems, problems that go deeper than just his dog's situation, and your comparing high gas prices to THAT?!! As Jeannie Brown said in a previous comment above, "You, Sir, are an idiot!!!" You shouldn't even be allowed to post your idiot comments on any article on the internet. In other words, keep your stupid, uneducated, ignorant comments to yourself because, really, no one wants to hear them. Bottom line-Shut the Hell UP!

Jan Ashbaugh Mirisola: Point taken. But the previous post came from leaving my account logged in and used by someone else. I apologize for the inconvenience. Those are some pretty harsh words though.

But I'd be on the street with my pit bull before I put him down…

Potcake Tali ME TOO!!! She'd eat before me too!

Potcake Tali ME TOO!!! She'd eat before me too!