Flood crime in Lower Austria

Thriller: Flood exposed the leashed dog carcass

In Gloggnitz, on the banks of the raging Schwarza river, a German leashed his mongrel "Odin" - but when he was already dead, he said in court in Lower Austria

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Doris Seebacher, SP)

A Lower Austrian man made a terrible discovery while out walking in October: a dead four-legged friend was lying leashed to a tree on the riverbed of the Schwarza in Gloggnitz. Its owner gave an adventurous account in court - which, however, could not be refuted.

Unbelievable masses of water fell in September, especially in Lower Austria. The result: a millennium flood! Also in Gloggnitz. "We were on the verge of evacuation," a police commander recalls how the Schwarza became a raging torrent.

Dog left to drown?
Then, in October, the situation eased. The water level dropped again - and revealed a terrible find. A man from Lower Austria discovered a dog carcass while walking his four-legged friend. Leashed to a large shrub. The shocking suspicion of the public prosecutor's office in Wiener Neustadt (Lower Austria): The animal was leashed there by its owners and left to die. 

Tears in the animal cruelty trial
At the animal cruelty trial, a 41-year-old man and his partner, defended by lawyer Thomas Preclik, vehemently denied this. The German asserts: "My dog 'Odin' was with me for a very long time. He was part of our family." The mongrel was 13 years old and died of natural causes on September 2. "I didn't expect it at all," says the machine operator, his voice choked with tears.

I didn't want him to be washed away. I didn't expect a flood of the century.

Angeklagter (41) im LG Wiener Neustadt

He then goes on to give an adventurous account of why his four-legged friend was found dead on a riverbed on a lead. "I simply acted emotionally and stupidly." He was looking for a final resting place for "Odin" - on his dog's favorite walking route. But then the 41-year-old realized: "You couldn't dig there at all. It was all over my head." So he simply left the animal carcass lying there and thought about a solution for days.

Animal carcass on a leash
But then it started to rain - "I saw the water rising and rising." The dead "Odin" was lying on the riverbed at the time. That's when the father of the family decided to put the dog's carcass on a lead. "You don't actually do that," questions Mr. Rat incredulously. "I didn't want it to be washed away. I didn't expect a flood of the century," sobs the 41-year-old.

As unbelievable as this responsibility may sound, the opposite could not be established in the Wiener Neustadt regional court. An expert opinion was inconclusive due to the poor condition of the carcass and there were no direct witnesses. So the German and his partner - together they have a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter - were acquitted without a final verdict.