In the below story from the Belfast Telegraph, 7 August 1877, two neighbours in Ballinasloe, County Galway engage in a heated legal battle over a cat:

Other examples of recourse to the law to recover stolen pets can occasionally be found in 19th century Ireland.

Some decades earlier, Nicholas Ball QC (later Mr Justice Ball) had successfully sued a Wellington Quay warehouse owner for the recovery of his very large Newfoundland dog, Carlos. Read about his case here.

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