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Beware of the dog (also rendered as Beware of dog) is a warning sign indicating that a dangerous
Beware of dogs
/ref>
Guard Dogs Act 1975
Dog equipment Signage {{Pet-stub
Beware of the dog (also rendered as Beware of dog) is a warning sign indicating that a dangerous dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
is within. Such signs may be placed to deter burglary
Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
even if there is no dog.
History
Warning signs of this sort have been found inancient Roman
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
buildings such as the House of the Tragic Poet
The House of the Tragic Poet (also called ''The Homeric House'' or ''The Iliadic House'') is a Roman house in Pompeii, Italy dating to the 2nd century BCE. The house is famous for its elaborate mosaic floors and frescoes depicting scenes from ...
in Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
, which contains a mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
with the caption ''cave canem'' (). These warnings may sometimes have been intended to protect not the reader but the dog, preventing visitors from stepping upon small, delicate and cute dogs of the Italian Greyhound
The Italian Greyhound ( it, Piccolo levriero Italiano, italic=no) is an Italian breed of small sighthound. It may also be called the Italian Sighthound.
History
Small dogs of sighthound type have long been popular with nobility and royalty. ...
type.
Law
UnderEnglish law
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.
Principal elements of English law
Although the common law has, historically, be ...
, placing such a sign does not relieve the owner of responsibility for any harm which may come to people attacked by the dog. Where a company employs the services of a guard dog, Chapter 50 of the Guard Dogs Act 1975 requires "a notice containing a warning that a guard dog is present is clearly exhibited at each entrance to the premises." In many cases, security signs integrate both CCTV warnings and Guard Dog warnings into the same signage.
Biblical reference
Philippians
The Epistle to the Philippians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and Timothy is named with him as co-author or co-sender. The letter is addressed to the Christian c ...
3:2 is translated as "beware of the dogs" or "beware of dogs" in the King James Bible
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
and many other editions. For example:
This is often interpreted as a euphemism, bad people having been described as dogs in a number of previous biblical passages. Nonetheless, the yard signs are sometimes alluded to in reference to the passage. The use of such signs in the Roman world may have influenced the author of the passage, and conversely the passage may have influenced the wording of the more modern yard signs./ref>
References
External links
*Guard Dogs Act 1975
Dog equipment Signage {{Pet-stub