Joe Namath's Labrador retriever deemed 'dangerous'

Hall of fame quarterback Joe Namath had a lot of luck on the gridiron, on the singles scene and in the media spotlight, but he's not having the best of luck with his 6-year-old Labrador retriever, Leo.

Seems Leo likes to bite, allegedly. Or is Stella, Namath's Weimaraner, actually the bad dog?

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control officials suggest that one or both of the dogs were mixed up in four separate attacks.

The four complaints have come from: a delivery driver; a contractor, who was working on the Namath residence in West Palm Beach when he was allegedly bitten; a home healthcare nurse, who knocked on the wrong door and was greeted by one of the dogs; and, most recently, an irrigation tech, who claims both dogs sank their teeth into him.

But alas, only poor Leo has been deemed "dangerous" so far, by a special magistrate. The punishment? The Sun-Sentinel reports that "the dog is not allowed outside without a muzzle and a leash and must be handled at all times, even in his own yard. The dog is only allowed to be without a leash and muzzle if he is in a kennel."

-- Tony Pierce

Photo: File photo of Joe Namath when he played for the Los Angeles Rams during a Rams game at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, in 1977. Credit: Allsport USA / Allsport

Comments

[Janine]

I applaud the decision. Too often dog owners with dogs who bite get away with the dog attacking over and over again with nothing being done about it. The people who were bitten should go after him civilly. Then I guarantee that he will never allow any of his pets to attack anyone again.

This kind of arrogant behavior is common with people who own dangerous dogs like Pits and Rots. Never heard of it before by someone who owns a Lab.

Knowing West Palm like I do, they DO NOT PLAY when it comes to dog bites. Namath should have known that and acted accordingly.

[AKH]

Apparently they do play, if this had been one of the "dangerous breeds" it would have been seized - a huge headline would result and the dog would be put down. Because it's a different breed, it's allowed to hurt people again and again without any punishment to the owner.

[L.A. Voter]

Janine,

Maybe you could consider learning the correct lesson from this, which is that it is hardly just Pit Bulls and Rottweilers who bite. But instead you lash out at Pit and Rottie owners for no reason.

Given the widespread inhumanity that is Breed-specific Legislation, cities enacting breed bans against dogs that not only are a specific breed, but those who, in someone's eyes "look like" a banned breed like Pit Bull or Rottweiler, which results in thousands of innocent dogs being killed, not for anything they've DONE, but simply for what they look like, the lesson here is that it is the dog's behavior that matters, not the breed. Why you would slam completely unrelated dog owners is inexplicable. And to wholesale libel two entire breeds as "dangerous" tells me you know nothing more about Rottweilers and Pit Bulls than what you read in overwrought and frequently inaccurate headlines. Has it ever occurred to you that online news gets a lot more clicks for a headline that reads "Man Attacked by Pit Bull" than "Man Bitten by Schnauzer"?

Also, people misidentify dogs as Pit Bulls all the time. Can you tell the difference between a Dogo Argentino and a Pit Bull? I'm guessing not...

The point is that dogs of any breed can bite, and irresponsible owners come from all age brackets, geographical locations and ethnicities, including Joe Namath and, as previously reported in this blog, Sioux City, Iowa City Councilman Aaron Rochester, who owned a people-aggressive Labrador (who has since mysteriously disappeared from the Sioux City shelter after being condemned to death).

It's no wonder we can't get any peace in this country when we are so much more interested in smearing and labeling than in truth. Even when the lesson is crystal clear, our hate and prejudice triumphs over the evidence in front of our eyes.