Gerard Butler accused of canine assault
Ugly Truth star Gerard Butler has reportedly been accused of assaulting a dog in New York earlier this week.
Fred Varecka, a retired banker, has claimed that the star struck his beloved greyhound Mayfly in Queens, New York on the 24th August.
Varecka claims he was out walking his two dogs when he saw Butler’s dog, a pug, come running over to them without a leash on him. Butler followed and reportedly struck a blow to one of Varecka’s dogs for no reason that he could see.
Varecka said: “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.”
However, a friend of Gerard Butler claimed that the greyhound attacked the pug and so Butler was forced to physically defend the little dog.
The source told the media: “Gerry had to physically get in the middle of the two of them to protect the little dog. As far as I know, they are exaggerating. Gerry is an animal lover and simply separated the dogs. He’s devastated that these people are saying these things, he would never hurt another animal.”
This version is also backed up by one of Butler’s representatives, who has stated:
“A larger greyhound repeatedly attacked Gerard’s small pug, so he separated them to protect both dogs.”
Butler’s pug was taken to a Manhattan vet but there was no detail given about the dog’s injuries. Varecka has filed a complaint with the police.
