Animal attacked senior citizen

Fine for gentleman after bloody dog bite

Symbolic image of a Staffordshire Terrier

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, krone.at-Grafik (Symbolbild))

A Pinzgau woman (69) was attacked by a Staffordshire terrier while out walking in Uttendorf, Salzburg, in mid-April: "I was in hospital for 17 days", she explained at the trial in Salzburg. The gentlewoman was fined 3600 euros for grossly negligent bodily harm.

The senior citizen (69) was out and about on Stefflweg in Uttendorf on April 17, 2024, where the accused Pinzgauer lived with his nine-year-old Staffordshire terrier: "I saw the door open and the dog, and thought: Oh dear, no leash, no muzzle," the woman said as a witness at the trial on Thursday in the regional court.

"The animal ran towards me and bit into my thigh." She had to spend 17 days in hospital - risk of infection because the flesh wound was too deep and too large. After four operations, the scars remain. "I just don't understand it. He's always nice at home."

Dog had already bitten other people

But it wasn't the first time: the dog attacked a man back in 2021. And the victim's lawyer even spoke of three more attacks on people: "A prime example of gross negligence."

The owner has since had the dog put down - and he apologized. "In truth, a dog is not predictable. That's why it's the dog owner's job to keep the animal under control," the judge emphasized. He had had conditions, not all of which he had fulfilled. "These are injuries that could easily have been prevented." The non-final judgment: guilty of grossly negligent bodily harm, 3600 euros unconditional fine.