Slightly injured

Dog escaped from apartment and attacked neighbors

A dog that escaped from an apartment attacked a resident and her dog on Sunday morning in Vienna's Hernals district and slightly injured them with bites and scratches. The woman suffered injuries to her face and foot, her bulldog to its head, leg and chest. 

An American Staffordshire terrier was home alone and had opened the unlocked front door to relieve himself. His 34-year-old owner had left the poor animal unattended at home for hours.

Dog jumped against chest
At 8.40 a.m., a resident of the house other than the woman who was later injured called the police because a loose dog had jumped against his chest in the stairwell. The man was able to push the animal back through the open apartment door and was not injured. However, the dog opened the apartment again on its own and ran out.

Police overpowered the dog with pepper spray
At this point, the woman went out of her apartment with her French bulldog. Both were attacked and injured by the American Staffordshire Terrier. The arriving police officers stopped the dog from further attacks with pepper spray and the injured woman was able to retreat to her apartment with her bulldog. Officers from the police dog unit also secured the dog.

Owner reported several times
A short time later, the 34-year-old owner of the American Staffordshire Terrier returned. He had left the dog unattended in the apartment for several hours. According to the police, the four-legged friend had also defecated in the stairwell. The 34-year-old was uncooperative and an air rifle was found and confiscated in his apartment despite a ban on weapons.

The man was reported to the police on suspicion of negligent bodily harm, violation of the Weapons Act and several violations of the Vienna Animal Husbandry Act. According to this law, an American Staffordshire Terrier is a so-called list dog, for which special regulations apply.