Beware of the dog

Mosaic at Pompeii
The Cave canem Roman mosaic at the entrance to the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, Italy, 2nd century BC
Notice at the Glasgow Necropolis

Beware of the dog (also rendered as Beware of dog) is a warning sign indicating that a dangerous dog is within. Such signs may be placed to deter burglary even if there is no dog.[1][2]

History

Warning signs of this sort have been found in ancient Roman buildings such as the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, which contains a mosaic with the caption cave canem (pronounced [ˈka.weː ˈka.nẽ]). Some suppose that these warnings may sometimes have been intended to prevent visitors from stepping upon small, delicate dogs of the Italian Greyhound type.[3]

Law

Under English law, placing such a sign does not relieve the owner of responsibility for any harm which may come to people attacked by the dog.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ R Wright, RH Logie (1988), "How young house burglars choose targets", The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice
  2. ↑ C Wilkinson (1998), "Deconstructing the fort", Journal of Australian Studies
  3. ↑ Cheryl S. Smith (2004), The Rosetta bone, pp. 10–11, ISBN 978-0-7645-4421-7
  4. ↑ James Paterson (1877), Commentaries on the Liberty of the Subject and the Laws of England, p. 271
  5. ↑ Charles G. Addison, Horace Gray Wood (1876), A treatise on the law of torts, p. 285


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