Blake Hiligh and Zachary Pilarcek, two former Buffalo football players, are facing an animal cruelty charge after a social media video appeared to show them abusing a dog, the Erie County District Attorney’s office announced Thursday.
Hiligh, 19, and Pilarcek, 20, apparently posted a video on June 13 where they beat a four-year-old male miniature poodle named Kobe using a leather belt. The next day, the SPCA Serving Erie County seized the dog and transferred it to a veterinary clinic, where it was treated for bruises and abrasions.
The two former players are being charged with one count of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals and failure to provide proper sustenance.
