Gerard Butler may have slammed a dog into a fence

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Gerard Butler may or may not have assaulted a dog. I want to be very cautious when I talk about this, because some people (me) get more worked up about the abuse of animals more than the abuse of people. Just speaking for myself, I tend to think that we get more worked up about animal abuse for two reasons – one, we are a nation of animal lovers, and two, animals can’t speak up for themselves. And, of course, they’re so cute! Puppies! Kittens! Aww…

So, here’s the story. Gerard Butler has a dog. She’s a pug named Lolita (no comment, seriously). Gerry was walking Lolita (twitch, twitch) in New York, when an “elderly couple” walking their greyhound came over. Here’s where the story gets sketchy, because there are different versions being bandied about. One version has Gerry slamming the greyhound into a wall for no reason. The other version has Lolita (twitch) being attacked, and Gerry spending four hours at the vet with her:

Did Gerard Butler get into a dogfight? The actor was involved in a scuffle with an elderly couple while he was out walking his pug, Lolita, on Monday afternoon. The couple claims Gerard went into a rage when their greyhound named Mayfly touched noses with Lolita.

Fred and Maria Varecka say that Gerard flipped out, slammed Mayfly’s head against a fence and shouted, “That dog should be put down!”

Gerard’s version of the story, of course, is quite different. According to his manager, Alan Siegel, Lolita was bit on the neck by the Vareckas’ larger, more menacing Mayfly.

“They don’t have it trained. They don’t know what they’re doing with their dog. People are so mean,” Gerard’s manager said, adding that his client spent four hours at an NYC animal hospital waiting for Lolita to be treated and released. “They’re just trying to milk this.”

The Vareckas filed a report with the NYPD against Gerard, but no citations were given.

[From Star Magazine]

Uh… well… let’s start with… I don’t even know. I tend to believe Gerry’s version just because I like him, and it’s hard for me to imagine him attacking a dog. That being said, if he did slam a dog into a wall with little to no provocation, it’s going to be a decent-sized controversy. He’s not Michael “I Kill Dogs For Fun” Vick, but the idea of Gerry hurting an animal is enough to lower my libido, and the collective horniness of his decent-sized fanbase. And I didn’t even know he had a dog. Named Lolita (twitch).

UPDATE: Uh… Radar has an extensive interview with this “elderly couple” who owned the greyhound, and their story is crazy. They claim Lolita wasn’t on a leash, and she came up to Mayfly and was sniffing him. They claim that Gerry totally freaked out on Mayfly, and on them, cussing them out. Radar’s NYPD source confirmed to Radar Online.com that a complaint for ‘harassment’ had been made against a ‘Gerrod Butler’. Way to get his name right, NYPD. But the NYPD also claims that the case is “closed” so I think that means that no charges will be filed in either case. Here’s what I think might have happened – Lolita was not on her leash, and Mayfly attacked her. There is probably enough blame to go around.

Here’s Gerard arriving back at his London hotel and signing autographs for fans, one of whom was rather smitten with Butler on August 3rd. Images thanks to WENN.com .

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40 Responses to “Gerard Butler may have slammed a dog into a fence”

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  1. Vanessa says:

    Aren’t greyhounds known to be more timid, non-aggressive dogs? They’re racing dogs, sure, but every greyhound I’ve ever met has been so afraid of it’s own shadow, I can’t imagine it going after another dog. Not to say it could never happen … I wonder how dog-loving Jen Aniston will make an appearance in this story …

  2. Annie says:

    YIKES!

    As a dog owner, I can definitely understand his over-protectiveness of his little Lolita (LOVE!)

    And if a dog were attacking my dog, I don’t know if I’d slam the dog, but you bet I’d do something if the owners didn’t.

    Also, from what I’ve been told, greyhounds tend do poorly around other dogs due to a lack of socialization (them being mostly racing dogs for the first part of their lives) and it’s hard to get them to behave like your regular old, non-racing lap dog who greets new dogs by licking their faces and moving along. Of course, this is not the dog’s fault by any means and hopefully the owners did their best to properly reintroduce the dog into the non-racing world.

  3. sunnysunday says:

    i have a pug and they are known to be one of the sweetest dogs!
    i would be upset if he hurt a dog for no reason but i can imagine that a greyhound, known for being skittish and not social, could hurt another dog, especially a small pug and in that case i would also defend my babies.
    on another note- this is a non story.

  4. Erin says:

    Greyhounds are not good around small animals seeing as they’re trained to chase rabbits. His dog is small.

  5. meow says:

    Almost all greyhounds are retired racing dogs and see all little animals (dogs, cats, etc) as prey. That is how they were trained. I have always wanted to adopt one, but I have other pets. With that said, I have a pug and they are great,friendly dogs. They can have short dog syndrome and bark at larger animals. My pug has chased black bears out of our yard.(I live in Central Florida, yes we have bears , but at least I do not live in S. Florida with the Pythons) He should have had his dog on the leash and the other couple should get training for their dog, it obviously has issues.Though not as many issues as a man who names his dog Lolita.

  6. Susette says:

    We have a couple of greyhounds in my neighborhood that everyone knows to keep their dogs away from. One of them already took a good chunk out of another neighbor’s dog. Not the dog’s fault. As someone said, they were racing dogs and didn’t get socialized, but their owners need to keep better control of them.

    I also think the couple’s story sounds like a load of crap. I hope both dogs are doing well.

  7. barneslr says:

    I seriously doubt that he would randomly attack a strange dog for no reason. Only someone with a mental illness would do that without any provocation. Clearly, if he did do anything to this dog, it had to have been posing a threat to a person or animal that he was trying to defend.

  8. Annie says:

    Oh! Well that adds something new to the mix.

    When a leashed dog is approached by a non-leashed dog, it leads to some power struggles and can trigger a lot of different things.

    It’s why people don’t like it when you got a dog park and leave your dog on the leash still. It messes with the hierarchy of the dog pack.

    Dogs are sensitive to that kind of stuff.

    And whoever noted that greyhounds track little things was 100% correct. Now you exacerbate the problem that occurs naturally by having the whole Off-Leash/On-Leash issue? Not good.

  9. sunnysunday says:

    the radar interview states that gb manager’s says that lolita was on a leash…

  10. Bill Hicks is God says:

    Total scrolldown that picture, looking alright, and then you hit the waist/crotch and it’s like his legs are bolted on facing the opposite direction. He’s going to punk out a knee standing like that.

  11. Cinderella says:

    Not all children get along. Sometimes it’s best to keep them separated. Stop trouble before it starts.

  12. Tazina says:

    It was the right thing to do to close this case. Their stories are totall conflicting and it would be impossible to get any truth out of either of them without an independent, unbiased witness. This isn’t going anywhere.

  13. orion70 says:

    Bill Hicks is God, I thought the same thing, why is he turning in all directions there? Then again, it makes me wonder how bendy he is (wiggles eyebrows)

    On topic, i’d get pretty wiggy if another dog attacked mine, and it’s happened while out walking on leash, and we’ve been charged by much larger, unleashed dogs, one of these occasions she got so scared she slipped her collar and took off. I’ve also seen little dogs get picked up in the jaws of larger animals.

    People should always walk their dogs on leash IMHO, if for no other reason than you have some leverage to pull them off another dog if need be. Also IMHO, any breed of dog can be unpredictable, particularly if it may have been abused. Older dogs can also have little tolerance for small, hyper pups. I don’t think anyone can say that greyhounds, or any dog are automatically passive in all circumstances. From what I gather though, they’re ok, unless a prey-like animal runs from them. I tend to wonder about the fact that the greyhound owner stated that the dog had already been rescued once from being put down….why?

    That said, I know a big brute of a guy who has a little pug, and he is insanely protective over it. Maybe Gerry’s a little sensitive.

    lol @ ‘Gerrod Butler’ being a “perbutrator”

  14. Kirk says:

    I have known Fred & Maria for nearly 14 years. The use of the term “elderly” doesn’t fit them at all–they are charming and fun-loving.

    They actually have two greyhounds, both rescue animals. Butler’s dog was not on a leash, and Mayfly did not bite Lolita at all. Isn’t it a strange coincidence that Butler would altruistically fork over $3K to a stranger on the same day he flips out for no reason. It’s called damage control, people!

  15. The Old KC says:

    Just an FYI – the way Gerard pronounces his own name sounds like “Gerrod” (the Scots do not pronounce the ‘r’ and the emphasis is on the first syllable). Much like the American name Jarrod. I saw an interview in which Gerard explained this and said he just goes by “Gerry” because most Americans can’t say “Gerard” correctly. : ) so I can kind of see why the police report or whatever might have it misspelled…

  16. Annie says:

    The likelihood of this “Kirk” being credible is quite low.

    That being said, I also wanted to agree with the person who made the observation about older dogs having a low tolerance for hyperactive pups.

    My dog, for whatever reason, doesn’t like puppies. He doesn’t try to bite them, but oh does he herd them and bark at them and definitely takes on a more “IM THE BOSS” tone with them.

  17. hatsumomo says:

    Well, this is why I carry a taser with me when I walk. You never know when a dog *cough pit cough* or pervert tries to attack you. Its better to be safe than sorry. I’ve only been barked at by unleashed dogs and just crack my taser at them and they split. I haven’t tased a dog yet, but wouldn’t be scared to.

  18. Katyusha says:

    @hatsumomo
    Have you been attacked by a pitbull before?

    This took place in NYC and no one saw anything? Really? Nobody?

    I have a hard time believing he would slam a dog into a wall, reason or no reason. People who own (and love) their dogs don’t tend to abuse (as opposed to trying to correct) other dogs.

  19. hatsumomo says:

    No, but my friend has and where I’m from, San Antonio, Pit attacks are very prevalent.

  20. Annie says:

    Yikes.

    It’s bad owners that should get tasered. Not the pitbull.

    But I hear you Hatsumomo, the unfortunate truth is, pitbulls have a higher tendency of viciousness.

    That is not to say that all pitbulls are like that, in fact, there’s this one pitbull my corgi plays with all the time, and he’s an absolute sweetheart to my little terror! Doesn’t get worked up at all as my guy herds him around. He even gets sad when my guy decides to ignore him. LOL

    And believe it or not, ChowChows are also quite aggressive.

  21. Bodhi says:

    Seriously, tase the owner, not the pitty. Dogs aren’t born bad, they are made bad.

  22. Tazina says:

    Excuse me! If a dog is coming for your throat, you need to taser the dog, not the owner. My brother-in-law is a postman and he was attacked on a public sidewalk by a pit bull. He forced it back with his two hands on it’s neck. Someone came along and whacked the thing over the head with a board which stunned it and made it back away. And where was the owner? Standing there doing nothing.

  23. Liz says:

    If Gerry thought that the greyhound had attacked little Lolita, he might have reacted in that manner…What did the couple do to restraintheir dog, I wonder? How did they know who he was? (For some strange reason, Gerry isn’t as known as widely as he should be withhis handsomeness, charm, acting ability, etc.)

  24. Really... says:

    I’m not a fan of his, but he is clearly not a small man, so he SLAMMED the dog? PUNCHED the dog (look below)? Where is their doctor’s statement?

    Everybody needs to just walk this unfortunate incident off cuz it’s gonna stay he said, they said w/o proper witnesses.

  25. hatsumomo says:

    uh, Bodhi and Annie, try telling that to Lem, another poster on here.

  26. hatsumomo says:

    * commenter I meant.

  27. Ursula says:

    It is not usual that someone who has an animal is cruel to other animals. Maybe Gerry wanted to protect his Lolita.

  28. captain america says:

    he looks a bit like my uncle HANK, folks!!

  29. Jazz says:

    I think some older dogs don’t like puppies because they won’t tolerate “young whipper snappers” 🙂

    My little Jack Russell and I got attacked by a dalmation once, and by other dogs a few times. Every time there were people standing in the street watching and doing nothing. The dalmation was friendly once. There are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners.

  30. lady garden says:

    Captain America-tell your uncle i’m free, thankyou please

  31. Taradash says:

    Doggie etiquete

    1. keep ur dog on a leash
    2. all dogs snap even the cutest
    3. thats why when they do, even playing you can pull you r doggies collar away from the pain the neck snapper
    no harm done walk away

    greyhounds are gentle, but you never know what reaction they’ll have when playing “aggresive”

    had a little “cute” mini poodle snap at my jack russell , made him run for the hills, but if he would have been mean , yikes

  32. the original kate says:

    don’t know the whole story but dogs should always be on a leash, even if they are well behaved, because some dogs feel quite threatened when they are on leash. it’s like they know their mobility is limited and they are more vulnerable, thus more aggressive. i have two mastiffs, and they are very gentle dogs, but my female is wary when she is on leash: very protective of me and more likely to growl when dogs approach her. when she is off leash she has never growled at anyone. that said i hope the doggies are ok.

  33. inna says:

    Ok for all you people out there who are making generalization such as greyhounds are poorly socialized, don’t do well with small animals. Pay attention: I have owned greyhounds for the past 16 years. All have been retired racers. All are perfectly well socialized around small dogs and cats, (I am also a cat owner). I have volunteered with greyhound adoption groups for years and no, none of our greyhounds have been “small dog killers” This”actor” not unlike many irresponsible dog owners who feel like it’s their right to walk their dogs off leash in public places, had his small pug off leash. The greyhound approached the pug and the owner freaked out and hit the greyhound and verbally assaulted the greyhound’s owners for having a ‘vicious’ dog. Their dog was on leash. His was not.

  34. inna says:

    Ok for all you people out there who are making generalization such as greyhounds are poorly socialized, don’t do well with small animals. Pay attention: I have owned greyhounds for the past 16 years. All have been retired racers. All are perfectly well socialized around small dogs and cats, (I am also a cat owner). I have volunteered with greyhound adoption groups for years and no, none of our greyhounds have been “small dog killers” This”actor” not unlike many irresponsible dog owners who feel like it’s their right to walk their dogs off leash in public places, had his small pug off leash. The greyhound approached the pug, the pug owner freaked out, hit the greyhound and then verbally assaulted the greyhound’s owners for having a ’vicious’ dog. Their dog was on leash. His was not.

  35. Katyusha says:

    @Taradash

    ALL dogs certainly DO NOT snap.
    Every dog I’ve ever owned in my life (including my current 10 year old pitbull and 8 year old saluki) have never, ever, snapped at me, another dog, or anyone else.

    I hope you’re not spewing this information to anyone other than the folks reading this post. I also hope you don’t make blanket statements like that often =/

  36. Stormy says:

    I’d try and kill ANYONE who attempts to hurt my dog, no matter what the reason. However, I keep my admittedly psycho Boxer on a leash when we’re in public at all times. She terrifies people, it’s hysterical! I took her to the dog beach and this little kid got one look at her and screamed and cried for like, 30 minutes until her parents had enough and took the kid home. It was the funniest thing ever, that kid probably thought my dog was a demon or something…LOL!

    But my point is that every individual dog is different, no matter what their breed reputation is. Boxers are known for being good with kids, sweet, lovable friendly dogs, but mine absolutely HATES everyone except me, so it doesn’t matter what people say, every dog is different. Some are just…warped, LOL!

  37. Marianne says:

    Dear Gerry,

    I am a huge fan of yours for years ever since the movie Dracula 2000, Phantom and then Dear Frankie blew me away! I always go to see you movies when they come out. How could I not?? You are adorable and a good actor.

    I am deeply saddened from the news that came out today regarding the incident with your pug and a greyhound. I feel you need to go public and fight this accusation for many reasons. First being… that there is something missing from the story. No normal animal lover would attack a dog and say malicious things for no apparent reason. I know you feel you dont have to justify the incident but I wish you would.

    I am an owner of two greyhounds and belong to a rescue group. These dogs have been mistreated and have not been offered the sweet life of a pet for many years. They do not fall under animal protection rights because they are considered live stock and are bred for a money making industry. Therefore, they have been put down in the 10’s of thousands yearly in the distant past in the US and believe me not in a humane way. (I cant even get into other countries inhumane treatment of the breed it would make you physically sick.) Greyhound rescue groups have fought a long and hard battle to rescue these dogs and bring public awareness to the gentleness of the breed. As a whole greyhounds are extremely sweet and gentle even though they have not been raised in an environment of family love and caring…and yet they are full of love to give still. The industry has gotten better over the years since rescue groups have popped up all over the country…but still spending all your days and night in a crate with paper rather then a bed is still not the best quality of life….and yes they are still put down when they dont win but not in the high numbers as before. They have been raised to chase “the rabbit” from birth…yet (believe it or not) most of them are small dog and cat friendly because of their gentleness.

    I feel I needed to defend the breed to you as your a spokesperson referred to the dog as menacing. Dogs are not menacing they are dogs and under certain circumstance their natural instincts can kick in. It upset me deeply that your spokesman would refer to the dog in such a way when I believe it was both your and the owners of the greyhounds fault. It is my opinion that no dog should be off leash no matter how small or well trained the dog is. A dog is a dog and can be unpredictable at any time that could result in injury if your dog should run off into the street…approach non-friendly dogs or get lost. An unleashed dog charging dogs on leashes can be considered an aggressive move and the leashed dogs can feel threatened. Granted…this was a case of a tiny dog approaching two big dogs….but the instinct is still there whether the dog is small or not. My boy dog Blitz is afraid of small dogs because several have attacked him! They come over to him and start sniffing his nose (which is a big one) and then they start growling and biting him. Seriously I know this sounds silly but because he is so gentle and a love bug he would hide behind me for protection from the tiny dogs (8lbs). Also because of those incidents if there is a rabbit in my yard he will not leave the deck. He just stands there and stares to make sure they dont come after him. I think the point I am trying to make is that no matter the size of the dog big, small, medium a dogs instincts can take over at any time.

    I also think it is the greyhound owners fault as they should properly tighten up the leash on the dogs and not allow them to get that close to a small dog outside not knowing the situation. I am very aware of my dogs at all times when they are in public and there are other dogs around. Once you have more than 2 dogs anywhere at a time it is considered a pack and pack mentality can take over no matter how sweet, what breed or trained the dogs are. Im not saying this happens all the time it doesnt, but that is when pack mentality can kick in and the greyhound owners should have know that. It is very possible that the owners of the greyhounds were not educated dog owners or were over taken with the “star struck” syndrome and not really paying attention. It is so obvious by the story that they are not telling all of the truth so I wish you would.

    Therefore Gerry, please keep your dog on a leash in public for his safety and your peace of mind. I am a dog owner and lover myself and would hate to see anyone’s dog attacked or hit by a car when it could easily been avoided. It happens too many times to ignore the data.

    Lastly I would sooo appreciate it if your spokesperson can retract the statement of a “menacing” dog. Truly that is an unfair statement for the incident. I would hate for people to misinterpret that statement as greyhounds are menacing.

  38. Marianne says:

    Most people do not know greyhounds and their personality. They are usually very gentle dogs and not aggressive unless put into a position of aggressiveness. No matter how small the dog was…a dog charging at another dog barking is interpreted as aggression and a dog will react to it. Greyhounds are actually the most socialized breed there is because they grow up in a socialized conditions being around 100’s of dogs constantly. There is a lot of misinformation out there because they are trained to “chase the rabbit” from birth but many greyhounds live their retirement life with cats & small dogs.

    This incident is unfortunate…and I wish Gerry would come out and respond to this whole situation. Not to the owners of the greyhounds which sound a little questionable..but to his feeling for dogs and that this was not a menacing dog…but a dog situation!!

  39. Crystal says:

    I’m not buying Butler’s claim that his dog was bitten in the neck and he spent hours in the animal hospital. If that was the case, why didn’t he file a police report. I think he’s trying to do damage control since there’s hardcore animal rights groups who would do everything in their power to ruin his career. His manager cracked me up with the People are so mean,” comment. He needs to get a manager who doesn’t sound like a kid.

  40. Sonjalyn Dickson Rine says:

    Greyhounds are quiet shy friendly dogs but they are big and they are HOUNDS (Hunting Dogs) Pugs are yappy, jump up on you, overly excited happy dogs! I love both breads…the blame here lies with the owner for not having the Pug Leashed and keeping it away from a bigger dog. Just because a dog snaps or growls lets not call it an attack!!
    FYI if the Greyhound attacked the Pug. The Pug would more than likely be dead! Just like if it were any other large Hound Breed…Bluetick, Black and Tan, blood Hound, Walker.
    My Greyhound had an encounter with a Pug in our neighborhood. The unleashed Pug came into our fenced yard and jumped up on my greyhound snapping and barking. My Greyhound grabbed the Pug by the neck and slammed it to the ground where she held him until I got to her and said, Drop it! The Pug repeated his bad behavior and again my Greyhound took him to the ground. By this time the Pus irresponsible owners where screaming at me and my dog….Like we were doing something wrong. I told my Greyhound to drop it and again she did. This time I grabbed the Pug and was bitten twice by the Pug before I could get it over the fence. The owners did not apologize until animal control showed up at their house to quarantine their dog!
    My dog was not attacking their Pug she was simply defending herself….but she may have been labeled by some as vicious simply because she is bigger.