Dog bites off owner’s lip
A 36-year-old woman had a chunk of her upper lip bitten off by her own dog, it has emerged.The Bad Ischl resident had opened the boot of her car to let out her Bernese Mountain Dog when it suddenly attacked her on Tuesday.The Upper Austrian underwent surgery at a local clinic. It has not been made clear whether the dog will be put down.The incident is the latest in a string of canine attacks on people.Last week a seven-month-old boy got away with minor injuries after being bitten by his grandfathers dog in the Upper Austrian town of Scharnstein.A 10-year-old girl was in hospital for several days last month after she was mauled by a friends Landseer in the Carinthian capital Klagenfurt.Earlier in September, a two-year-old boy was seriously injured by a Rottweiler on a playground in Ternitz, Lower Austria.The Committee for Traffic and Leisure Time Safety (KfV) said around 5,900 people are hospitalised in Austria every year following dog attacks.Some animal experts have criticised political decision-makers for failing to set up standardised dog-keeping laws for the whole country. All of Austrias nine provinces have different rules. Oekonsult found that, with 83 per cent, the vast majority of Austrians want tougher rules for the ownership of dogs which are considered dangerous. The poll also revealed that 52.6 per cent think it is the dog owners who are responsible for their pets aggressive behaviour.