PROXIMATE CAUSE AND PROBABLE CONSEQUENCE. 127 



Where a dealer in feed sold oats to a liveryman, knowing 

 they were intended for the food of horses, and the purchaser 

 did not examine them, it was held that there was an implied 

 warranty that they were reasonably fit for feed, which was 

 broken if they contained castor beans, and also that where 

 the purchaser by agreement returned the unused portion of 

 the oats, receiving the same price per bushel as he had paid, 

 this did not rescind the contract nor deprive him of his action 

 on the breach of warranty. Where some of the horses were 

 killed, others made sick and others permanently injured, the 

 measure of damages was the value of the horses killed, the 

 difference in value of the injured ones before and after the 

 injury, the loss of the use of the sick horses and the expense 

 of medicine and medical treatment.^* 



The owner of a barn containing another man's horse is lia- 

 ble for carelessly setting fire to a straw stack near by and 

 causing the burning of the barn and horse.^* 



Where a telegram requesting that a veterinary surgeon 

 should be brought for a valuable horse was not delivered 

 promptly, the telegraph company was held liable for the death 

 of the horse.*" 



43. Dogs Attacking Persons or Animals. — The law with re- 

 gard to killing dogs in active mischief was thus stated in a 

 North Carolina case: "The law authorizes the act of killing 

 a dog found on a man's premises in the act of attempting to 

 destroy his sheep, calves, conies in a warren, deer in a park 

 or other reclaimed animals used for human food and unable 

 to defend themselves. . . . The law is different where the 

 dog is chasing animals fera natures, such as hares or deer in 

 a wild state, or combating with another dog. In these cases 

 a necessity for the act of killing must be made out, or the kill- 



' Coyle V. Baum, 3 Okla. 695. 



' McCornack v. Sornberger, 56 111. App. 496. 



' Hendershott v. West. Un. Tel. Co., 106 la. 529. 



