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Soap actor Nick Santino commits suicide over dog grief

By April MacIntyre Jan 29, 2012, 15:03 GMT

Actor Nick Santino committed suicide in the wake of putting his healthy pit bull mix down after intense pressure to get ride of the dog from his Upper West Side condo association.

Actor Nick Santino committed suicide in the wake of putting his healthy pit bull mix down after intense pressure to get ride of the dog from his Upper West Side condo association.

Grief and despair overcame Santino, a cast member on "Al My Children" and "Guiding Light" as he euthanized his dog, Rocco, on his 47th birthday.

“Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend,” Santino wrote in a suicide note, said close friend Stuart Sarnoff to the New York Post.

Santino had rescued Rocco from a shelter several years ago.

The Post reports that Santono, who was 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.”

In 2010, Santino's building changed their dog regulations, including a ban on pit bulls.

Neighbors reportedly made life difficult for the actor and his dog.

The New York Post reports that Santino had the healthy dog down over pressure from his landlord last week.

“He was distraught and remorseful about putting down his best friend,” Cleary said.

Santino overdosed on pills the night he had put Rocco down.