Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs was charged with animal cruelty on a civil petition filed Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, according to Patch.
The petition notes that an investigator obtained two arrest warrants for cruelty to dogs or cats in the second degree.
The circumstances surrounding the case, as outlined in the petition, are bleak. Tuscaloosa police received information on March 28 about two dogs left on the porch of a home. When police and animal control arrived, they found a gray and white pit bull on a screened back porch and a black Rottweiler mix locked in a metal cage in direct sunlight. Neither dog had access to food or water.
Both dogs were reportedly seized and found to be “malnourished, emaciated and neglected”, with the property appearing to be abandoned. A neighbor told authorities the dogs had been on the porch for 10 days.
Investigators later determined that the house had been rented by Buggs, who had been served a notice of termination in April due to $3,116.90 in back rent. Witnesses told investigators he left the home on or around March 19.
Buggs has earned $5.3 million in his NFL career, according to Spotrac.
Unfortunately, the pit bull had to be euthanized in late April due to increased aggressiveness and failed heartworm treatment. The Rottweiler mix tested positive for Parvo, an often fatal virus for dogs, and weighed just 52 points despite being three years old.
Attempts to contact Buggs have reportedly been unsuccessful. The civil petitioner is seeking to formally take custody of the player’s dogs and charge him for their care, treatment, maintenance and disposition.
The Chiefs’ bizarre offseason continues
Buggs joined the Chiefs’ practice squad last January and remained with the team on a reserve/future contract in February. He entered the NFL after winning a national championship with Alabama as a sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers and later spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders and Detroit Lions.
Buggs may be a bit player for the Chiefs in the grand scheme of things, but the allegations here continue a bizarre and distracting offseason for the defending champions.
First, there was top receiver Rashee Rice’s indictment in Dallas for a highway accident, followed by an assault charge that has since disappeared. Later, kicker Harrison Butker’s speech became a political flashpoint (that’s not a crime, of course, but it got loud enough to reach the Chiefs’ practice).
Then there was a threat to leave Missouri due to a failed sales tax referendum and the arrest of two players for marijuana possession.
At this rate, Kansas City’s 2024-2025 season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on September 5 can’t come soon enough.
