In a Facebook post that has been shared over two thousand times, Shelby Filbeck documented the story of how her friend, Katie, had left her dog with Missouri State football player Breck Ruddick who was a friend of hers at the time. She had trusted Ruddick before to watch her Australian Shepard, Luca. Ruddick had contacted Katie and told her Luca had run away, and after the she made a post looking for him, he was found in a pool of blood and cleaned up. When he was returned to Katie he was still bleeding. She took Luca to the vet and found his jaw had been broken and needed surgery immediately. Luca had six teeth pulled permanently and will never be able to eat solid food again. He will have to be on an oatmeal based diet for the rest of his life. The vet explained to her that due to the extent of the damage, Luca had not only been struck not once but multiple times. Filbeck claims that Ruddick had punched Luca in the mouth three times.
Pictured below are photos of Luca's mouth shared by Filbeck.
"This story makes me sick to my stomach, I love my own dog more than anything in the world and I can't even imagine what Katie is going through. No animal deserves to be treated this way, and no human should be capable of hurting a defenseless animal to this extent. Breck was careless and insensitive. He needs help and his actions need to be accounted for. The pictures below show how much pain Luca has went through and how his life will be forever altered by one heartless person. Please pray for this sweet dog and his owner," Filbeck said at the end of the post.
Katie contacted the Springfield police who then referred her to Animal Control. She is currently pursuing charges against Ruddick. In a petition started by Tabi Jost on change.org, nearly 20,000 signatures have been collected moving to have Ruddick removed from the team. Coach Dave Steckel had already suspended Ruddick for an upcoming game, a decision which Missouri State backed.
However, many who signed the petition felt it was just a slap on the wrist and more needed to be done. The comments on the decision include the following: "I didn't pay thousands of dollars to go to school with this scum bag." "Character is more important than winning games." "Animals are living, breathing, feeling creatures of God and we as humans have the responsibility to care for them, not abuse and torture them. This person should not only be removed from the MSU football team, but should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
The petition will be handed over to Dave Steckel and Missouri State University.
Pictured below is the 42 pound Australian Shepard.
