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Mismatched dog duo freeze in outdoor kennel at 17 degrees

A massive onset of winter, new living conditions for the owner - two dogs, a very dissimilar pair, had to endure the freezing cold outside. The owner now had to justify himself to a judge in the Innviertel region and was found guilty.

The thermometer had dropped to minus 17 degrees at the beginning of December last year. Witnesses raised the alarm in Hochburg-Ach because they had noticed that two dogs had been kept in small boxes in an open garden shed for several days and had not been brought into the warmth despite the massive onset of winter.

Frozen water
The worried Innviertel residents raised the alarm with the police, who found the odd pair of dogs - a Maltese and a Stafford terrier - in the freezing cold in the shed and the small box in which they could barely move. The water was frozen and there was reportedly a lack of food.

"I had to move out"
The 26-year-old owner of the animals was quickly traced and stated that he had had to move out and that no animals were allowed in his new accommodation. He had therefore put the dogs up in the hut for the short term. He had not expected the severe onset of winter.

Guilty verdict
The man from Innviertel was now tried at the regional court in Ried for animal cruelty, which is punishable by up to two years in prison. The six-month conditional sentence is already legally binding.