Dog attacks owner’s mum after walk

A Styrian woman had to undergo surgery after she was bitten by her son’s dog.

The American Pit Bull Terrier ripped off a chunk of the woman’s lower lip on Wednesday, police in Gleisdorf said yesterday (Thurs). Officials said the woman and her son had taken the animal for a walk shortly before the incident happened. She reportedly patted the canine when it suddenly pounced on her. Its owner, 23, could be prosecuted for bodily harm. He reportedly plans to keep the dog. His mum is recovering, doctors in Graz said.

Earlier this week, a Viennese woman died after falling over when her dog got into a fight with a Rottweiler. The woman, 62, took her pet dog for a walk in Penzing district on Monday morning. She landed on the concrete pavement with her head in the incident and passed away the next day due to her severe injuries. It is unclear whether the owner of the other dog – a 44-year-old woman – will face legal charges since she failed to leash it in a breach of Viennese dog-keeping laws.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for one of Austria’s biggest animal sanctuaries said they were currently looking after almost 200 so-called combat dogs. The Tierschutzhaus Vienna official said 185 fighting dogs were waiting for new owners at the institution located in Vösendorf south of the city. The number of abandoned Rottweilers, American Staffordshire Terriers and 11 other breeds has reportedly risen strongly in the past months in the Vienna area.

Experts think that the development is a consequence of the city’s stricter bylaws on owners. They are forced to sit theoretical tests and prove that they have their dogs under control when taking them for a walk since July 2010. The rule that dogs must be leashed in public affects all breeds. The sense of the recent combat dog regulations has been doubted as all of the first 680 applicants for the new dog-keeping licence passed the check at first attempt.