Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 October 1895 — Sets Up a Dog's Right to Bite. [ARTICLE]

Sets Up a Dog's Right to Bite.

James Armstrong, of New York, owner of a big St Bernard dog that bites, claims as long as the animal keeps the bulk of his body on private property he can project his head and mouth into the public highway and bite passers-by without breaking the law. Samuel Wilkinson, who was bitten, takes the other end of the argument, and says that he will sue Armstrong for serious injuries. While he was walking past the house he received the bites. Mr. Wilkinson says: “I an willing to swear that the part of the dog that bit me was out upon the public street where I was. It does not matter where the rest of the dog was. The offense of biting was committed with the dog’s mouth, and it is of no defense for Mr. Armstrong to prove that the hind legs and tail were on his ground. I don’t care where the hind legs were, as they took no part in the proceedings.”