The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1899-05-19

Us lltlSant.
Thus the dog has figured in myth
ology, history, poetry, fiction and
art, from the earliest times down to
'he present, and now in these closing
days of tho nirateenth century we
are called upon to decide whether
dog is wildanimal Qerae naturae),
III such sense as not to be levlable
property; or, if he is domestic an,
mat (domitae nuturaej, whether he is
not subject to levy on the ancient
theory that ho had no intrinsic value
II he was not good to eat.
DOGS HAVE GREAT VALUE.
Originally all the animals which
arc now used by man wero Wild
One after another they huvo become
domesticatcd, and subject to his con.
troll, ownership and use. AS time
prog esscd they gradually lost their
character Of wi!ducss, and became
more and more subject to mankind,
and laore and more regarded as ordi.
nary property. At this day no one
would contend that the horse was
not the subject Of absolute property
because his ancestors were originally
Wild; and tho Same may be said of
other animals now thoroughly recog
nizod as domestic. Even in the days
Of Blackstone, while it was declared
that the property in a dog was "base
property" it was nevertheless as
serted that such property was suIli.
cent to maintain a civil action for
Its loss Ct Black. Com. 1850. Since
that day in the evolution Of civiliza.
ton, the dog has not been left be-
hind, He is now not only priced for
hunting purposes, rs watchdog, and
rs pet, but it is common knowledge
that many dogs have an actual COM
mercial and market value. When
annually there is held in New York q
bench show, at which dogs take
prizes amounting to thousands of
dollars, and where they arc bought
and sold at prices which arc fre.
quently Ear larger than are paid for
ordinary horses, It is rather late in
the day to assert that they arc not
valuable property.
UNJUST TO CREDITORS.
Dogs are also trained for purposes
of exhibition, bcing sometimes the
sole means of support for their mas
ters. 1t would be- an interesting sur.
vival Of archaic law to say that Il
Snowman could put up his tent, give
nightly exhibitions of his valuable
dogs, making large sums of money
from them, get IN debt to any given
extent, laugh at his creditors and
proceed with his daily exhibitions,
on tho ground that his stock in trade
was not subject to l"vy.
If It be contcndcd that tho horse,
mule and other animals arc used for
moro practical purposes (some Of
them rs beasts of burdrn). 1T need
only be asked what animals draw the
sledges Of tho EokimOs aud other
peoples in tho northern latitude? )?
Nor is this confined alone to the
arctic regions. Any traveller on tho
continent of Europe ard especially
through belgium, who has kept bis
eyes open, has seen these animals
drawing heavy loads, and often tax
ing the place Of other draft animals.
To indulge in technical refinement
and declare that the dog is not sub
ject to levy, although he belongs to
a dobtor, is useful to the debtor, can
be and is actually used, may bo
transferred by him to another, and is
as much the subject of bargain and
sale as any other property, merely
because in tho remote past the own
ership Of his progenitors may have
been considered qualiic! or "buse,"
seems to mo untcnablc on its face.
The ancient idea that "animals
which do not servo for fool, and
which therefore the law holds to have
no intrinsic vaiue," were not tho sub
ject of larceny G. Black, Com. Side
p. 23Gj, has passed away. Now the
stomach is not tho only criterion Of
value. Even then, as already statct,
a civil action could be- brought fer