Police investigate

Crazy animal haters shoot at harmless four-legged friends

Cat "Indigo" was shot and simply left to his fate.

(Bild: Aktiver Tierschutz)

Another cowardly attack on pets in Styria: dog "Stella" and tomcat "Indigo" were rescued by vets

Yet another case of animal cruelty is keeping the police in Western Styria busy. Just recently, an unknown person shot down tomcat "Pecco" with two bullets in Ettendorf near Stainz - now "Stella", the small dog of a large family in Wildbachberg, has been killed. Care assistant Patricia H. was worried when her 5-kilo mongrel, who usually spends time in the garden, suddenly vomited in the evening. "I suspected he had been poisoned and called the vet immediately."

Stella the dog could only be saved by emergency surgery.

(Bild: Privat)

Matthias Weber, who was actually no longer on duty, then opened his surgery in Stainz to examine the animal patient. "At first there was nothing to see, but then he discovered a bullet hole in my dog's stomach," says Patricia H.

Only an emergency operation saved the life of "Stella", whose condition had deteriorated by the minute. "An X-ray revealed that the projectile from a BB gun was lodged in her liver. The abdominal cavity was already full of blood," explains vet Matthias Weber.

The projectile is clearly visible on the X-ray.

(Bild: Weber)

The little dog is now doing well again, but the shock has left its mark on the West Styrian family. "My daughters were completely devastated. It's simply unbelievable that someone would shoot in the middle of a residential area where children also play," says Patricia H., hoping that the cowardly shooter will be found soon. The Deutschlandsberg police have taken over the investigation. It is unclear whether there is a connection with the recent case in Ettendorf. "At the very least, the two cases are thought-provoking", emphasizes Weber.

"Unfortunately, this cruelty is a reality"
A very similar case has now been reported in Nestelbach near Graz: Tomcat "Indigo" was found seriously injured there and handed over to Active Animal Protection. "We immediately saw the badly swollen leg, which was leaking pus - the large abscess made us fear the worst", says spokesperson Katharina Gründl.

Numerous splinters were then discovered on the X-ray - and so it was a sad certainty: "Indigo" had obviously also been shot. "We don't know whether it was for fun or because they wanted to drive him off a piece of land. Unfortunately, this cruelty is a reality," Gründl shakes his head.

The Laßnitzhöhe police station has not yet received a report - but it was only in February that they investigated a cat that had also been shot. As in Ettendorf, however, this investigation also had to be closed without any results.