EON

It’s a dog’s life – especially if you happen to be a yellow Labrador retriever named Leo, the companion of ex-NFL great Joe Namath. The problem of being the pet of a sports celebrity is that people are constantly entering Leo’s yard. Leo, doing what comes naturally to dogs, deters them with barking, lunging and, unfortunately, biting.

After four incidents of biting strangers since 2007, a Florida judge has officially declared Leo a danger to society. Leo was spared euthanasia, which is a common sentence given down to dogs in bite cases. But if Leo bites one more person, the Judge says Leo will be destroyed.

Leo will have to spend the rest of his days behind a locked door when people come to Namath’s home. Whenever Leo is outside – even in his own yard – he must wear a muzzle to prevent him from biting. Leo is now denied walks outside of Namath’s property although he is allowed to travel in Namth’s vehicles and to go to a veterinarian.

Namath, loyally defending his canine comrade, said that Leo never would have bitten anyone if there weren’t so many trespassers on his property. Namath has also claimed that strangers have deliberately teased Leo and his other dog, a Weimaraner named Stella.