4 Ga. App. 633 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1908
Perkins, a liveryman, brought a suit in tbe county court against Johnson, a blacksmith, to recover damages for an alleged negligent injury to a horse which the defendant had engaged to shoe; it being alleged that the horse, while being shod,
The material allegations of the plaintiff’s petition are, that on July 21, 1905, Perkins carried his horse to the defendant’s shop to be shod; that, while it was being shod, Eiley Cash, a regular employee of the defendant, who was accustomed to aiding the defendant in shoeing horses, “did negligently, carelessty, and without cause cut, with a knife or other sharp instrument, the side of said horse, making a very serious and terrible wound, and that said horse died from said wound, on August 3, 1905.” The evidence for the plaintiff tended to show, that Perkins carried his horse to the defendant’s shop to be shod, and that after a time he-returned and found a deep gash or cut in the left side of the horse, about three inches long, just in front of and even with small bone which projects at the top of the hip. The horse was cut to the hollow. Eiley Cash, the helper (it" appearing that the proprietor, Berry Johnson, was absent), was asked about the cause of the wound, and stated to Perkins that he did not know the cause. The doctor was summoned, and stitched up the wound. Two or three days later, Eiley’ Cash stated that the horse must have gotten cut when he fell back on him, while he was paring its foot. The physician who was called in gave the horse good medical treatment, and the wound began to close up, but the action of the horse showed that it was in pain. It threw its head to its left side, and could not carry its left hind foot forward with ease, gave way on the left side, and, when the stitches were cut after several days, quite a quantity of pus ran out, and the wound had to be washed for a number of days. On the twenty-ninth day after the horse received the cut, it was ridden (very slowly, according to the testimony for the plaintiff, and, according to evidence for the defendant, in a gallop) eight and one half miles into the country, and, on the way back, died. The value of the horse, care, attention, loss of service, and physician’s bill were shown. This constituted the evidence in behalf of the plaintiff.