48-year-old woman injured

Applicant attacked by dog during job interview

This is certainly not how the applicant imagined her job interview: When the woman from Linz arrived for her job interview in Pucking on Thursday, she was jumped on and injured by a Great Dane. The 48-year-old had to be taken to hospital.

On the very day on which the Upper Austrian state parliament is due to pass the long negotiated and hotly debated new dog ownership law, there was another dog attack. This time the scene was the municipality of Pucking in the Linz-Land district.

A 48-year-old woman from Linz drove there on Thursday as she had been invited to a job interview. When the dog owner opened the front door, the dog - a Great Dane - jumped on the applicant and injured her, according to the police. The 48-year-old then had to be taken to Kepler University Hospital.

Stricter rules for large dogs
Meanwhile, at another venue, the state parliament, the resolution on the new dog keeping law was on the agenda on Thursday. As reported, stricter rules will apply to six breeds in Upper Austria in future: Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Pit Bull and Tosa. There are special requirements for keeping them, including the obligation to wear a lead and muzzle.

Stricter rules will also apply to large dogs with a height at the withers of more than 40 centimetres or a weight of more than 20 kilograms. Specifically, this would mean that in addition to the general certificate of competence - six hours for small dogs - owners of these dogs would also have to pass a practical test, a so-called everyday suitability test. This involves testing the behavior of the dog and owner in normal everyday situations, such as in traffic or around crowds of people.

Law before decision
In addition, municipalities are to be given more leeway after incidents involving dogs and a cross-municipal dog register is to provide an overview of all dogs registered in the federal state. The law is to come into force on December 1. The official state parliament resolution was still pending on Thursday evening. The amendment was prompted by the fatal bite attack on a jogger in Naarn.