, 1888-08-16
THE FIRST CASE.
The Question of Whether the Dog
is Property
Comes Up for Trial the First
Time
Under the Recent Act of the
Legislature.

A curious case has arisen in this city
and it Is to be tried before Judge Fisher
next Saturday. The specific title of the
case is that of Charles Phillips VS.. Henry
Hoffman,, and grows out of a dispute
regarding the right of possession of a GER
tain dog which yesterday was replevied
from Hoffman by Phillips, Constable
Goddard taking the dog into his posses
sion and locking him up to await the
Judgment of the court.
The case possesses some amusing fea-
lures which will be alluded to later
on, but in some respects it Is a very
important one and such as will interest
every dog fancier in the territory.
OF course everybody knows that at COM
mon law a dog is not property and could
not be the subject of larceny, and while
one man might recover from another the
value of his dogs services if the dog be
stolen, yet it would only be for the loss of
services and upon no other ground that a
recovery could be had.
Our last legislature, however, passed a
law which expressly makes the dog per-
sonal property, so that now he is the sub
iect for larceny and a man can now be
sent to the p%enitentiary Just as quick for
stealing a dog worth $25 as he could Tor
the larceny Of a horse worth that amount
This law, however, has not rs yet been
taotal in onvr of fha anrrte ~ fha tarr,fnrv
and no case until the one begun yesterday
has ever come into the court of even a
justice of the peace winch involved the
question of property in dogs under the
new law.
Charles Phillips owned, or rather had
the right OF possession, of a dog which he
loaned to Henry Hoffman las he claims)
for certain purposes for which a good
watch dog is desirable. There seems to
have been some sort of a bargain or
agreement about the dog which was I'M
derstood one way by Phillips and another
way by Hoffman, and the result was that
when the former claimed the dog back
Hoffman contended that he had just as
good a right to the animal as Phillips did,
neither one being the actual owner
Phillips finally went to Hoffman's place
on Tuesday and getting a chain around
the dogs neck and taking him into his
wagon proposed to drive away with him.
Hoffman rallied. made a charge on Phil
lips with his horse and wagon, recap
tured the dog and took him back to his
yard.
Phillips then executed a left flank mo-
vement and appeared before Judge
Fisher where a writ of replevin was taken
out and delivered to Constable GODDARD
for service, the value of the dog being
fixed at $50. Mr.. Goddard arrived with
this document, advanced on the Hoffman
intrenchments, captured the dog, took
him up town and turned him over to a
third party to keen until after the trial is
over. The dog in the meantime protested
in decided terms to his Incarceration and
making things hideous in the neighbor-
hood where he is now kept.
Mr.. Hoffman appeared at Judge Fish
er's office yesterday to make some in
quiries about the case and incidentally
alluded to the fact hat when he took the
dog it had a broken leg which was docter-
ed at his expense, and he claimed that
he is entitled to his pay for taking care
of the dog before he ought to give it up.
This really makes a very interesting
case of it and if both parties remain stub
Dor and Hoffman brings in a doctor bill
as a part of his defense and taking into
consideration the fact that neither party
claims to be its actual owner, it will be a
suit worth listening to when it comes up
for trial.
Lost.