Rex Ryan eats dog biscuits to raise awareness about animal cruelty

— -- PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan ate a dog biscuit Thursday -- and then another -- as part of a campaign by the Erie County (New York) Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to raise awareness about animal cruelty.

"Oh, that's terrific," Ryan said as he chewed. "I'll have one more, I think. ... That's outstanding. A little dry."

The "dog biscuit challenge," inspired by the "ice bucket challenge" last summer to raise awareness about ALS, has spread on social media around Buffalo this week.

After eating his own biscuits, Ryan fed a dog biscuit to Sidney, the family dog of Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula, who joined Ryan at the news conference. Sidney then "challenged" Terry Pegula to eat a biscuit, which he did, before Pegula challenged defensive tackle Marcell Dareus.

Ryan, who said he and his wife have four rescued animals, had been challenged by a local news anchor in Buffalo.

"I thought it was kind of funny when I got challenged by this person, and I'm like, 'All right, let's do it. It's on,'" Ryan said Wednesday. "Give me one of them small biscuits though. I had the lap band [surgery], [so it] can't be the big ones, the large ones."