8/26/2009

in

Gerard Butler accused of hitting a dog in New York.

Lindsey Weedston

Actor Gerard Butler recently got into a fight with a local couple in New York over their pet dogs.  
  
Fred and Maria Varecka were walking their two greyhounds near the set of Butler's new movie "The Bounty" when it happened.  
  
Fred Varecka told [Radar](http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/08/exclusive-gerard-butler%E2%80%99s-dog-fight) that they were passing the set when Butler's pug, which was not on a leash, approached them. He restrained his dogs and says that "the pug never came into actual contact" with the greyhounds.  
  
Next thing they know, Butler came over to them shouting that the younger dog, Mayfly, should be put down. When Varecka replied that the pug should be put on a leash, he says that the actor struck Mayfly on the head, causing it to crash into the nearby fence.  
  
The couple said that they don't want any money from Butler, they just "want people to know that Gerard Butler is a liar and a jerk."  
  
Of course, Butler has a different tale to tell. A representative for Butler told [People](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20300551,00.html) that Mayfly attacked his pug, and he had to separate them to "protect both dogs." The rep said that the actor is an animal lover, and "would never hurt another animal."  
  
According to [E! Online](http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b141277_gerard_butler_unleashed_in_dog_attack.html), the New York Police Department received a complaint about the incident, but it only stated that the Vareckas were cussed out by the other dog owner when they said that his dog should be on a leash.