14 DAY TRIAL // Fans love Gerard Butler. He is considered one of the most down-to-earth celebrities in Hollywood at the moment, aside from reaping praises for being the wonderful thespian that he is. With this in mind and given Butler’s spotless reputation, a report that he hit another person’s dog so hard it went straight into a fence is almost impossible to believe, yet this is precisely what a New York man claims happened the other day, as People magazine can confirm.
Butler, it seems, was out walking his pet pug Lolita. Retired banker Fred Vareck was also out walking his dog, a greyhound named Mayfly. When the two dogs crossed paths and touched noses, the actor reportedly flew into a rage for no apparent reason, and punched Mayfly so hard it sent it slamming against a nearby fence. As Vareck watched the whole thing in disbelief, Butler unleashed a series of profanities at him and his dog, saying the animal should be put to sleep, even if it had not attacked or in any way threatened Butler or Lolita.
“My dog crashed into a fence before ‘yelping’ in pain. I asked him: ‘What did you hit my dog for?’ But he just kept ranting and raving that our dog should be put down – it was unbelievable because the dogs never came into contact at any time.” Vareck tells the media. A complaint has already been filed, and it’s possible that the man with the greyhound ask for some sort of compensation from the actor.
However, this is not what upsets the star the most, as his rep explains for People magazine, but rather the fact that some people would spread this kind of lies to the media just to get an extra buck. Gerard Butler did not attack the dog, he was simply trying to break the two apart, as Mayfly had attacked Lolita and bit her on the neck, for which reason Butler spent four hours at the vet having her stitched up. “A larger greyhound repeatedly attacked Gerard’s small pug, so he separated them to protect both dogs.” the rep says.
A source close to the actor also explains for the same mag that he will not respond to the allegations in public in any way because he does not want to fuel the scandal even more. Nevertheless, the fact that there are some who are saying he might actually be capable of hurting a defenseless animal deeply hurts him, the source explains.
As of now, the police have confirmed Vareck has filed a harassment complaint.