You’re may not exactly be a spring chicken if you remember this 1974 advertisement for Beautymist Pantyhose, in which a camera pans up a pair of sexy gams only to eventually come to a stop at the face of their owner — Joe Namath.
It was an unsettling little commercial, especially to one who, growing up outside of Baltimore, had chosen the rebellious and flamboyant Broadway Joe as a role model over straight arrow Johnny Unitas.
Now, Joe’s setting a disturbing example again: One of the former NFL quarterback’s dogs was declared dangerous this week in connection with the May 2008 biting of a home health aide that mistakenly stopped at Namath’s home in Florida — and that’s just one of four complaints against Namath’s dogs.
Namath, 66, appeared at a hearing Thursday in West Palm Beach to answer to charges that two of his dogs attacked people who came to his home in Tequesta, a community about 90 miles north of Miami.
His 6-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, Leo, was declared dangerous, but the case against another of Namath’s dog, a 6-year-old Weimeraner named Stella, was dropped because a witness didn’t appear, the Associated Press reported.
As a dangerous dog, Leo must now be muzzled and leashed both off and on Namath’s property. He must also have a microchip implanted and carry a special “dangerous dog designation tag” — though the latter seems to me to be a lot like those bumper stickers that read “If you can read this, you’re too damn close.”
If Leo bites someone else, he could be declared “vicious,” and euthanized, and Namath could face criminal charges, officials said. Namath had no comment on the charges.
Local animal control officials say there have been four reports of Namath’s dogs attacking people on his property since 2007, “and rumors of many more.”
A UPS driver said he was “accosted by a pack of dogs” on Namath’s property in May 2007. In February of this year, a contractor working at the home was reportedly bitten by Stella, the Weimaraner. That victim didn’t show up at this week’s hearing and the case against Stella was dropped. In August, a landscaper on Namath’s property was bitten by one of the former New York Jets dogs.
A case of double mistaken identity led to a Baltimore police officer shooting the Baltimore police dog who attacked him Sunday night.
Police called in a K-9 unit to help chase a man who drove through a checkpoint near Wegworth Park, off of Hollins Ferry Road, then exited his car and started running, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun
When the K-9 unit arrived, a German shepherd named Blade was unleashed to pursue the motorist. When another officer arrived on the scene from a different direction, he was attacked by the dog. The dog, possibly mistaking him for the suspect, leapt on the officer and bit him about the upper body.
The unidentified officer, not knowing the dog was a police dog, pulled out his handgun and shot the dog at least once in the face.
A police spokesman said the dog was taken to Falls Road Animal Hospital in Mount Washington, where he underwent surgery for a bullet wound. The spokesman said he did not know how many times the dog was shot, or what condition he was in.
The officer, who was wearing body armor, was not seriously injured.
