Owner sentenced

Viennese man suffers seven strokes after dog bite

The 37-year-old defendant appears neglected in the Vienna Regional Court.

(Bild: Sophie Pratschner, Krone KREATIV)

In a Viennese park, a terrier mix dog bit a 37-year-old man on the lower left leg. What started out as a minor injury quickly escalated: the victim suffered seven strokes due to an infection in the wound and is now scarred for life. The dog owner is now serving a suspended sentence.

The 37-year-old victim takes a seat in the hearing room in Vienna with a walker - the young man has been severely disabled since July 2023 due to a dog bite. The owner of the terrier mongrel now has to sit opposite him in the dock for negligent bodily harm with permanent consequences.

Not the first attack by a terrier mix
On November 10, 2022, the 38-year-old defendant was walking his four-legged friend in a park. "What happened then?" Judge Patrick Aulebauer wants to know. "I don't really know that exactly myself," says the adult representative. The fact is, the dog was neither on a lead nor had a muzzle. This triggers a lack of understanding from Mr. Rat: "Surely there have been incidents in the past?" To which he gets a simple "yes".

Victim suffered seven strokes
"All I know is that the police were there and then the rescue team," recalls the unemployed man. His terrier mix had bitten a Viennese man on the lower leg. But even he can't say anything about the incident. The injury had a terrible course: "The foot was always festering afterwards and then he got fever attacks," his mother told the court. In July 2023, the victim then suffered a stroke, followed by six more in hospital - an infection attacked his heart ...

After two weeks in a vegetative state and intensive rehabilitation, the man can walk with the help of a walking frame, but he cannot speak. His mother is claiming 18,450 euros in compensation on his behalf. "The recoverability is another question," notes Judge Aulebauer. After all, the defendant only receives minimum income. His dog is now staying with a friend. 

"You've now been banned from keeping dogs, right?" says Mr. Rat - "Yes, for three years." He also received a one-year conditional prison sentence. The 38-year-old, who appeared at his trial in a state of complete disrepair, accepts the sentence.