75 Miss. 970 | Miss. | 1898
delivered the opinion of the court.
Henry Jones sued the Illinois Railroad Company in the sum of $195, damages for the killing of his dog, Tag. The evidence for the plaintiff showed the dog was a valuable one for small game, and was worth $100. The value of the dog is undisputed, and is not controverted. The only witness of Tag’s
We incline to the opinion that a dog is property, within the meaning of the statutes of this state upon that subject (Sentell v. Railway Co., 166 U. S., 698; Hanks v. Railway Co., 11 L. R. A., 383; 3 Elliott on Railroads, sec. 1190), and whether the running of the train at a greater speed than six miles per hour was the cause of the killing of the dog, is, we think, a question for the jury. It is in evidence that the dog was killed by the train while running at a greater speed than six miles per hour, and this evidence casts the burden upon the defendant of showing that the running of the train at a greater speed than six miles per hour was not the cause of the killing of the dog.
The judgment of the circuit court is reversed, a/nd the case is remanded for a new trial.