52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 18 : Pets

I grew up in a household that always had 3 or 4 cats.  My mother loves cats and still has 3.  She says she would have loved a dog but my dad didn't like them.

Once I left home I knew I didnt want any cats but apart from a couple of gold fish, I was in my 40s when we finally got a Rescue dog.  A few months later my daughters boyfriend (now husband) bought her a Rescue dog too.  She still lived at home.  Now we had 2 dogs.  Both dogs are still alive and kicking, although slowing down now they are nearing 10 years of age.

During a search on Ancestry.co.uk I occasionally come across unusual databases.  One such database being Ireland, Dog License Registrations, 1810-1926 [1].  I found that on March 31 1902 my Great Grandfather Nicholas Manning registered a female, brown and white Terrier.  Further investigating found that William, father of Nicholas, had registered a female black and tan Sheep dog on March 25, 1884 and a grey Sheep dog the following year.

I also found a newspaper article [2] from Lincoln City Police Court, listing fines for people that hadn't paid for a dog license.  In March 1897, George Firth, the brother in law of one of my English great grandfathers, was find 5s for not having a dog license.  There was no mention of the breed of dog or any other information.

1. Ancestry.co.uk, Ireland, Dog Licence Registrations, 1810-1926
2. Lincolnshire Echo, 10 March 1897, page 3