A star college quarterback has been suspended from his team indefinitely following allegations that he punched a friend’s dog and broke the animal’s jaw.
The claims have been taken so seriously that the Missouri State University Bears ditched Breck Ruddick while an investigation takes place.
Meanwhile thousands have signed an online petition demanding that he be axed completely amid allegations he abused an Australian Shepherd so badly the dog needed surgery.
The story first surfaced on Friday afternoon when Facebook user Shelby Filbeck wrote a lengthy post about her friend Katie Riggs who had asked the football player to look after her dog Luca.
Shelby wrote: “This is not my dog, but this story deserves to be heard.
“Earlier this week one of my close friends left her adorable sweet loving dog with Breck Ruddick.
“This was someone she trusted, this was a guy who has watched her dog before and who she has spent a good amount of time with as friends.
“She never thought leaving her 42-pound Australian Shepherd with Breck, a 200+ pound MSU football player, would lead to this.”
She then details the allegations saying: “Never once did she, nor anyone else for that matter, believe that Breck could get so upset with this sweet dog that he would hit him in the jaw, not just once, but three times.
“After ‘loosing [sic] his cool’ and hitting poor Luca he led him outside and let him run off, all alone and bleeding profusely.”
Shelby claims Breck told Katie that the dog had run off but neglected to say that he had allegedly hit the dog.
Katie and Luca weren’t reunited until the following day after a stranger found the pet “in a parking lot covered in blood.”
Shelby adds: “The girl was nice enough to take him home and attempted to clean him up.
“When he was returned to Katie, the next day, he was STILL bleeding. He was then rushed over to the vet where they found that his jaw had been broken and he would need surgery.”
Shelby says the dog’s jawbone was also shattered and he had to have six teeth pulled. The dog is said to be recovering and is on an “oatmeal based diet.”
“That’s when the vet explained to Katie that Luca had to have been hit more than once…” she wrote.
Katie confirmed to KY3 – a local TV news station – that the allegations were correct but refused to comment in detail because she doesn’t want to jeopardise the investigation.
She wrote: “I’m sorry I am not willing to share this information until I get my entire case together with animal control.”
Breck has yet to comment but KY3 reports that in a Facebook post attributed to him, he allegedly said: “I punched it. The story that’s getting told is way out of proportion.”
It goes on to say that he didn’t break the dog’s jaw but that he tapped him to get the animal off his bed and Luca “bit” his hand.
Over the weekend the college released a statement saying that it considered it to be a “serious allegation,” and that Breck has been “suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team.”
The statement went on to say: “The office of student conduct is coordinating an investigation and will turn findings over to Athletics for team discipline and then will begin university disciplinary action if appropriate.”
The online petition to remove Breck from the football team has nearly hit its goal of 25,000 signatures.