Zeke
The original Zeke was a yellow Labrador owned by Gary Eisenberg, who as a junior at MSU in the mid-1970s competed with Zeke in the disc-catching national championships held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Officials in the MSU Athletic Department noticed Gary and Zeke's success and in 1977 invited them to perform during a Spartan football game. They did so, and a new tradition was born.
In 1978, head coach Darryl Rogers was quoted as saying Zeke was the best receiver in the Big Ten. He awarded Zeke a football letter, "to this day the only non-human to letter at Michigan State."
After 1981, Zeke performed on a limited basis before his retirement at the age of ten in 1984. He died in 1987.
Read more about this topic: Zeke The Wonder Dog