A member of the condo board that Nick Santino said pressured him to euthanize his pit-bull -- a decision that drove him to suicide -- says the condo board is NOT responsible for his death.
Board member Marilyn Fireman says she is sorry that Santino is dead, but says it has nothing to do with the building's no-pet policy. She tells the NY Post, "You just assumed that [his suicide] was a result of a board’s decision."
Fireman did concede Santino routinely complained about the building’s anti-dog policies.
Santino's sister tells the paper the family is holding off on funeral arrangements until the dead dog's ashes are brought home ... saying, "They'll be buried together."
Santino had his beloved and healthy pit-bull Rocco put to sleep on Tuesday, Santino's 47th birthday. A few hours later, he overdosed on pills.
A soap actor killed himself this week on his 47th birthday ... hours after he was forced to put his beloved dog to sleep under pressure from his Manhattan condo.
According to the NY Post the building had a ban on pit-bulls, but Nick Santino's dog had been grandfathered in ... which didn't sit well with some of the neighbors. Some claimed the dog was loud and aggressive, but others said building management was just harassing Santino ... trying to force him to get rid of the dog.
Santino had Rocco put to sleep on Tuesday -- for some reason he felt that was his only option.
According to the paper, a tearful Santino brought dog treats to the doorman and said, "Give these to the other dogs. Rocco is no more."
Later that day Santino left a suicide note that read, "Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend ... Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn't deserve this."
Santino -- who has appeared on "All My Children" and "The Guiding Light" -- OD'd on pills early the next morning.
Rocco was cremated and friends told the Post Santino will be too.
A new series of Casey Anthony photos -- posted on Twitter by the same person who posted the previous pics -- surfaced online last night ... featuring the dog Casey said she adopted in an earlier video.
Casey still has the same short blonde hair and glasses she was sporting in the other photos.
It's still unclear who's releasing the photos. Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, told Geraldo Rivera he would go after him/her ... but then Baez quit as Casey's attorney just days later.
Jon Peters -- the bigshot Hollywood producer behind the Michael Keaton "Batman" flicks, "Flashdance," "Rainman," "The Color Purple," "Caddyshack," and many other huge movies, -- is THE WORST DOG OWNER EVER ... this according to a new lawsuit.
Peters has been accused of abandoning two dogs he left at a Burbank dog kennel back in 2010 ... and blowing off the MASSIVE bill he racked up in the process.
According to the lawsuit, Peters' ex-wife took his two doggies -- an Akita named Bear and a Doberman Pinscher named Beau -- to the California K-9 Academy in June 2010. Peters needed to board the pooches because he was moving to a new home.
K-9 claims Peters fell off the radar ... hardly ever checking in on the animals. After more than 200 days, K-9 claims Peters finally sent his assistant to pick up Bear.
But Beau wasn't so lucky.
K-9 claims the Pinscher spent more than 365 days in the kennel ... and finally the kennel asked Peters for permission to sell the dog ... and the absentee dogfather signed off.
Even though the dogs are out of K-9's possession -- the kennel claims there's still some unfinished business -- more than $25,000 in unpaid bills for training, boarding, vet care, etc., which is the basis of the lawsuit.
Peters' lawyer tells TMZ ... the lawsuit is bogus, adding, "Mr. Peters has an established history of caring for animals and specifically took legal action to protect the animals involved in this matter." The lawyer says he'll fight the lawsuit.
Casey Anthony has taped a video diary entry that has surfaced on the Internet ... and in the clip, she says she's become a mother ... to a brand new dog.
The 4.5 minute video is bizarre ... with Casey sporting a short haircut and glasses ... and rambling about various topics, including how happy she is to be out of jail.
In the clip -- which Anthony says was taped on October 13, 2011 -- she says, "I'm extremely excited ... that I'll be able to Skype and obviously keep a video log ... and that I have something that I can finally call mine."
She adds, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to call something mine.”
Anthony was released on July 17 after she was found not guilty of murdering her daughter Caylee. However she is on probation in Florida for check fraud.
In the clip, Anthony -- who does not disclose her location -- says, "I'll be here for many many months ... even if i get off probation early."
Anthony continues, “Now I ... in some ways ... have someone to talk to even when I am by myself so I am not bothering the poor dog ... who I have adopted and I love."
It's unclear why the video is finally surfacing now. Attempts to reach a rep for Anthony have been unsuccessful.
Khloe Kardashian helped raise thousands of dollars to help save endangered tigers in the wild -- all while barely raising a finger ... TMZ has learned.
Here's how it happened -- Khloe posted a tweet New Year's Day, asking her 5.6 million followers to text "Tigers" to 20222 ... thereby donating $10 directly to the World Wildlife Fund to help save wild tigers across the world. It was that simple.
A rep for the WWF tells TMZ, the tweet got an overwhelming response -- with over 600 people texting "Tigers" in the last 2 days ... raising over $6,000 for tiger conservation. According to the rep, the massive surge in donations was a "huge jump" above the norm.
But the rep tells us, the Kardashian sister's charitable moment didn't end there -- Khloe also adopted a tiger online ... and she got her mom Kris to do the same.
According to the rep, the money raised by Khloe's tweet will go to science and research on the ground in regions of the world where tigers live ... to better understand how to protect them.
Finally, a reason to keep up with the Kardashians.
Cheetah the chimpanzee -- who reportedly played Johnny Weissmuller's sidekick in the 1930s "Tarzan" films -- passed on to the great jungle in the sky last week after suffering kidney failure ... this according to the primate sanctuary that he called home.
The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, Florida -- where Cheetah had been living since the 1960s -- made the announcement, saying, "It is with great sadness that the community has lost a dear friend and family member."
It was not a Merry Christmas in the Osbourne home yesterday -- their beloved chihuahua Martin died.
Kelly Osbourne passed on the sad news via Twitter yesterday, writing, "today is a sad day in the Osbourne family house hold we lost R dog martin of 14 years. Devastated does not quite sum it up! #NotSoMerryXmas"
On Sharon's website, Martin is described as "a sophisticated little creature. Shunning the affection of women, Martin prefers the love of a good man."
Here she is ... Stella ... the adorable little puppy who was thrown off an L.A. overpass by some heartless scumbag ... and could have died ... if not for an unbelievable act of kindness from P!nk.
TMZ broke the story ... P!nk dropped $5,000 to pay for emergency lifesaving surgery for the puppy after learning she suffered 3 broken legs after being tossed into the L.A. river.
Thanks to P!nk, Stella has made an inspiring recovery and has since been adopted by a loving family.
And if that doesn't warm your heart ... you might be dead.
P!nk just came through with a canine Christmas miracle -- shelling out $5,000 to pay for emergency life-saving surgery on a puppy that had been tossed in the L.A. river and left for dead.
Sources tell TMZ ... P!nk was surfing the Internet recently, when she stumbled upon a story about a puppy that had been thrown off an L.A. overpass ... and suffered 3 broken legs when it landed in the L.A. river.
We're told the dog was in bad shape ... and required major surgery FAST ... or else.
That's when P!nk sprung into action -- contacting the Ace of Hearts animal rescue organization and offering to pay for any medical expense it took to save the dog's life.
$5,000 later ... the dog went under the knife -- and recovered!!
And it gets better -- we're told the dog has since been adopted by a loving family ... and will probably get a big, juicy bone for Christmas.
Tom Selleck's 22-year-old daughter Hannah Selleck has serious horse sense -- representing the USA at an international equestrian competition in Paris this weekend, alongside the best riders in the world.
She didn't take home a top prize at the Gucci Masters -- but she still did pretty damn well for herself ... placing in several events.
Cheetah the chimpanzee -- who reportedly played Johnny Weissmuller's sidekick in the 1930s "Tarzan" films -- passed on to the great jungle in the sky last week after suffering kidney failure ... this according to the primate sanctuary that he called home.
Tom Selleck's 22-year-old daughter Hannah Selleck has serious horse sense -- representing the USA at an international equestrian competition in Paris this weekend, alongside the best riders in the world.
