Killer-Dog

A Smith called Pete narrates the tale of a dog who is accused of killing a neighbor's sheep. The evidence is that the dog left his home about the time the deed was done; that his sire was a sheep killer; and he is scratched. On the other side, there's a little girl who loves her dog, and her father is insistent that justice be done.

They used to hold trials for animals in the Middle Ages. For example, on September 5, 1379, some pigs were put on formal trial for killing two men. There were cases of rats being sent letters to leave a house, and locusts were held legally responsible for eating crops. Most of these cases were tried in ecclesiastic court. So to see a judge in a court room, with a prosecutor making an argument here is a bit odd, and well worth making a short about.

Like Pete Smith's shorts, it's all acted as a silent film, with Smith's narration telling us what's going on.