Mansuetae naturae
Of an animal[1]“by its nature, tame”. From the Latin.
An animal of a type generally considered to be domesticated, gentle, tame, and therefore more apt to serve (or be eaten by) than to attack (or eat) its master.
Dogs, (domestic) cats, cows, geese, hamsters: these are mansuetae naturae. If such a beast causes one’s neighbour an injury, its master will only be liable if he knew[2] that the beast had a tendency to engage in the sort of perfidious behaviour which ultimately befell the plaintiff — in Rex v Huggins the mutt in question was an elderly beagle with no history — to that point in time — of targeted incontinence. To recover the dry-cleaning bill, Mr. Huggins Joined Rex to the action directly.
To be contrasted with wild animals ferae naturae[3]. Plain English Anatomy™ Noun | Verb | Adjective | Adverb | Preposition | Conjunction | Latin | Germany | Flannel | Legal triplicate | Nominalisation | Murder your darlings