New in Salzburg

Dog sitters pick up nervous four-legged friends in an emergency

After traffic accidents or internal emergencies, emergency services look for a place for dogs that are left behind.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Where should the four-legged friend go? This is a question that emergency services in Salzburg are faced with time and again when a dog needs to be taken to hospital. A Salzburg resident now offers a service for this.

Four-legged friends are very popular with older people. They are often a helper against loneliness. People like to get a dog to get outside and socialize. But senior citizens are also at a higher risk of health emergencies.

So where should the dog go? Patrick Weigand from Salzburg has been dealing with this question for some time. As part of his company "Dogrunners", which offers paid dog walking, among other things, he is launching a new service in Salzburg at the beginning of September. A rescue card for the dog is intended to give women and men security. The first step is to get to know each other, then the dog and owner are added to the register. If something happens to him, the emergency services will immediately find our contact details in his wallet and can call us," explains Weigand. The telephone number there can be reached around the clock.

Patrick Weigand works with dogs and dog owners. The new rescue card is intended to give them security - and the emergency services a contact person.

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

The dog, which is already known, is then picked up and looked after, describes dog expert Weigand. The owner pays nothing for the first day, and membership costs around 100 euros a year.

Police: "The dogs are often distraught and nervous"
The service could provide relief for emergency services. After traffic accidents or internal emergencies, rescue workers regularly come across dogs. If the patient is no longer responsive, they call the police or the animal rescue service. "If the owner has had a heart attack, for example, the dog is distraught and nervous. That's when our dog handlers are called in. With their expertise and equipment, they calm the animals down and take them with them," says Salzburg police spokesperson Hans Wolfgruber.

An emergency card can be helpful. The emergency services would then quickly have a contact person and the dog would not be taken to an animal shelter.