The Truth About Gerard Butler and Dogs

By PopEater Staff Posted Aug 26th 2009 02:28PM

'The Ugly Truth' star Gerard Butler is barking mad over a scuffle he had with an elderly New York couple - or, more specifically, their dog. The New York Post reports that Butler was walking his tiny pug Lolita when a run-in with a large Greyhound went wrong. Butler claims that he exchanged words with the couple after their large pet bit Lolita twice. The couple, Fred and Maria Varecka of Queens, argue that Butler went ballistic for no apparent reason - they say the two dogs merely touched noses and no biting occurred.

Butler was walking his off-leash pooch when the incident began. According to the Vareckas, Butler "went on this rampage, shouting, 'That dog should be put down!'"

"I said, 'Your dog should be put on a leash.' He kept on going and going, ranting and raving. . . . He was being verbally abusive." Maria Varecka added, "He smacked the dog in the head. The dog's head went into the fence. I was shaking. The dog yelped. I said, 'Keep your hands off my dog! Why did you hit my dog?' He didn't say a word."

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=702961&pid=702960&uts=1251314448

http://www.popeater.com/mm_track/popeater/movies/?s_channel=us.moviespop&s_account=aolnews,aolsvc&omni=1&ke=1

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf

Gerard Butler Photos

See more pics of '300' star Gerard Butler (and friends) >>>

Brian Ach/WireImage.com

WireImage.com

Gerard Butler Snapshots

Actress Jennifer Aniston seen on the Streets of Manhattan on August 24, 2009 in New York City. Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler on Location for "The Bounty" - August 24, 2009 Streets of Manhattan New York, NY United States August 24, 2009 Photo by Brian Ach/WireImage.com To license this image (58167355), contact WireImage.com

Brian Ach/WireImage.com

Actor Gerard Butler and actress Jennifer Aniston seen on the Streets of Manhattan on August 24, 2009 in New York City. Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler on Location for "The Bounty" - August 24, 2009 Streets of Manhattan New York, NY United States August 24, 2009 Photo by Brian Ach/WireImage.com To license this image (58167361), contact WireImage.com

Brian Ach/WireImage.com

©BAUER-GRIFFIN.COM Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler continue filming "The Bounty." In today's scene Butler appears to arrest Aniston's character and slap on some handcuffs. NON-EXCLUSIVE August 24, 2009 Job: 90824X5 New York, New York www.bauergriffin.com www.bauergriffinonline.com

IGNAT/bauergriffinonline.com

Dog-lover Butler sees the incident in a different light. His manager Alan Siegel described the conflict: "What happened was, Gerry was walking his dog, Lolita, who is this little, small pug, a teeny thing. You can hold her in one arm, she's that small. Then, suddenly, this greyhound, this huge, menacing dog, bites Lolita. She [Maria Varecka] and Gerry then have words. . . . [Then] the dog again goes over to Lolita and takes another bite."

TMZ reports that, after the second bite, Butler put his dog on a leash and began walking away, when the woman followed him. Butler intervened when the Greyhound attempted a third bite.

Siegel said Butler spent the next four hours at an Upper East Side veterinary hospital making sure that Lolita was no worse for wear. Reportedly, the pug is safe and healthy.

"People are so mean. They're just trying to milk this," Siegel concluded.

Tags: gerard butler, GerardButler

Comments

(112)

Sunday 30 August

By dgmozie

Vote down Vote up Report this

Likewise, I would only truly know (innocent 'til proven guilty) had I been a witness. But no one, NO ONE, should ever hurt, harm, or abuse an animal in any way, only unless there is a valid cause for self defense. Whether Mr. Butler was legimately vile is known only by those directly involved. BUT if the press releases about this are as described and he did hit an animal only because he essentially lost his cool, well then, he is an animal abuser who's movies I would make a point of not seeing. And, frankly, thus far he appears to be going the way of a flash in the pan. Good actor. Lacks screen presence.

By maureen

I agree dogs should not be abused, but when I was almost attacked by one, you can bet I would have kicked it had it gone further. I called the police (dog was in my garage and DON'T TELL ME TO KEEP MY DOOR CLOSED!!) and was told, too bad--no leash law. I said if it happened again, dog was going to be shot. This was a full-size English bulldog. They said I would be liable. I said dog would be dead. Even exchange.

By Fadillah

He is my favorite actor. I think people are just milking it to make him look bad, which isn't unheard of. And if indeed it is true, it looks like he has a temper, but who doesn't :)

By Nelly

Just a bit of common sense and cooler heads might have helped in this situation. Of course everyone's own pet is going to be the best--and when another pet owner feels their pet might be (even in the smallest of ways), aggressively approached, that pet owner will become very protective--And they should. Thankfully no pet or owner sustained injuries, so maybe the lesson to prevent this from happening again is to use the leash laws--they really are in place for a reason--to protect pets and people...

By Nancy

Mr. Seigal must be dizzy from all this spin! But I suppose any publicity is 'good' publicity.

By Annamarie

This is very upsetting. I have been a greyhound owener for over 19 years. I have owned 4 of them one who was very prey driven without incident. They have lived with cats without any incident. I have pictures to prove it. The only reason the greyhound went after the pug was because it was moving off leash. As for Mr. Butler. You ignored the law. Just because you are an actor does not mean nobody else can walk the public streets with their dogs. Any breed would have done the same. Mr. Butler the greyhounds deserve an apology for your arrogance and exaggeration of an incident. This is not a movie!
Please reconsider and retract your statements. This animals go back as far as back as the Egptian empire. They do not need any more bad publicity.
As for me, I will never watch anything you perform in. May your career be PTS.

By John S

Ban all animals from Manhattan. There are enough two legged ones to go around.

Monday 31 August

By kim

I have two large dogs. I know that one of the dogs is not neuterd and, therefore, I walk in a way that keeps the dog well away from other dogs. That being said, I do believe that Gerard should have had his dog on a leash. However, if he normally walks his dog in that area, there are normally no other dogs around, and the other people were trying to "poke around" the movie trailers, he probably thought that his dog would be safe (I would have thought the same). I do know that small dogs have a napoleon complex (I had a small run-in with someone whose small dog got off a leash while passing my dog) and can be aggressive. However, I was able to control my dogs. Anyone with a large dog needs to be able to control them at all times. As the small dog was bit, I feel it is the fault of the larger dogs. By the way, I've seen agressive labs (who are reportably the most accepting type of dogs) go after another dog. Breeding only goes so far.

Saturday 05 September

By Ellen

As a trainer, who discusses situations like this daily with other trainers, I can tell you that we despair of people who don't obey leash laws.

If you let your dog run up to a leashed dog, and then are angry if the greeting is less than perfect, you haven't got a leg to stand on.

Lolita should have been on a leash, and that puts Mr. Butler very much at fault for part of this.

There is no way to know exactly what happened. But this sounds very much like the pug made an enthusiastic approach, and got either a warning to be more polite from the greyhound, or even a mouthy play invitation.

I've heard no confirmation that there was any blood drawn -- if a dog wants to bite, he bites. Some very fierce-looking interaction can happen with nothing but spit exchanged, either in play or argument.

Some greyhounds have a high prey drive, especially right off of the track. But they also live with a group of dogs their whole lives, and most know the body language for canine politeness very well. This situation sounds a lot more like a "don't be rude" than an "I think you're a rabbit and will kill you," to me.

Check out Suzanne Clothier's famous article "He Just Wants to Say 'Hi!'" for another perspective on situations like this.

Friday 18 September

Seems to be very awful "trend" in smacking all things that don't belong to oneself--(the dog and now that terrible attack--YES, I said it, ATTACK on the crying 2 year old. Maybe the BIG lesson is to keep ones hands to ONESELF...Awful, really awful!

Saturday 17 October

By Chrisite

That Lady's Greyhound didn't have any business attacking the dog and Butler should of had his dog on a leash in the first place

Tuesday 19 April

By mp

GB is a rageful maniac! He was breaking the law to have his dog off-leash. He was at fault. He thinks he's above the law bc he's made a few films. What a joke!

Page 6 of 6