A love for animals and skills as an attorney led Lucien C. “Sam” Gwin III into territory that is new for Mississippi — a book surveying animal laws in the state.

“No one in Mississippi had done it,” Gwin said of his book, “Animal Law in Mississippi,” published recently and now being distributed in the state.

During his 25 years of practicing law, Gwin began to note that his Natchez firm handled four to five cases involving animals each year.

In the past 15 years, Gwin and his family became more involved with their own domestic and farm animals. Gwin began to realize the confusion found in state animal law.

He and his wife, Cindy, had begun raising Paso Fino horses.

“We bought one horse in 1995,” Gwin said. “We thought it would be good for the children.”

Soon, one horse was not enough. They bought the second one. “At one time we had 13. Now we have six,” he said.

The Gwins live in a rural area south of Natchez, where their love of animals shows clearly not only in the horses on the 13-acre estate but also in the dogs, cats and chickens — sometimes geese, as well.

With horse ownership came the inevitable trips to horse shows. “People who knew I was a lawyer would ask me about animal laws,” he said.

As the questions kept coming, he kept digging. It was apparent a book about animal law would be helpful, not only to animal owners but perhaps especially for other attorneys, judges, county officials, sheriffs, animal shelters, livestock associations and others.

“I started the book in about 2000 to 2001 and had to put it down and get back to practicing law,” he said with a laugh. He went back to it, however.

“A few years later, I realized I was going home and doing nothing but watching TV. I thought to myself that I could spend my time better than that — I could get back to that book.”

He did just that, spending several evenings each week working on the book.

“In Mississippi, we don’t have a lot of developed law on animals,” he said. “Even the livestock laws need to be overhauled dramatically.”

The state has stock laws on the books. “But they are confusing,” he said. “The law is uncertain.”

Some of the issues covered in the new book are liability for ownership of dogs, cats, horses and livestock; animal trespass in general and remedies to the problem; and sheriff and law enforcement duties regarding all at-large animals, for instance.

Gwin’s book is peppered with photographs that mirror his love and respect of animals and with several Bible verses, including “A righteous man regards the life of his animals,” Proverbs 12:10; and “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again, “Exodus 23:4.

Gwin is unsure that Mississippi’s laws are as clearly stated as animal laws in the Bible.

He hopes his book will, at the least, clarify some of the confusion that exists in the state laws, he said.

In the end, however, some of the questions about animals “do not have good legal answers.”

The book is available at Turning Pages Books & More.