It’s fascinating how the reverence for cats in Egypt, where a felonious act could be met with a death sentence, laid early groundwork for viewing animals as worthy of care, while the Romans’ codified laws on stray dogs and the emphasis on training in the empire’s equestrian circles show a nascent concern for stewardship. Both cultures introduced legal recognition that, though rudimentary, echoed in later centuries as society began to codify humane treatment; the ripple from those early statutes can be traced in the development of veterinary science and modern welfare statutes.