Suddenly aggressive

Dog bit “Herrl”, neighbor helped: Two injured!

The crew of the emergency helicopter came to the rescue.(Bild: Christian Schulter)

Wild scenes on Wednesday morning in a garden in the district of Oberwart (Burgenland): When a man (67) let his male dog outside the door, the four-legged friend went for him and bit. A neighbor (55) heard the cries of pain, rushed to help and was himself the victim of the dog attack. Both men are in hospital.

At around 6.15 a.m., the dog of a Burgenlander from Rechnitz wanted to go outside. As usual, the 67-year-old let his dog into the garden. Suddenly, the four-legged friend attacked the owner and bit him. The man screamed for help. The daughter, who was still in bed, was woken from her sleep and alerted the emergency services.

Victim screamed for help
A neighbor heard the victim's screams and immediately rushed to the seriously injured man. The 55-year-old helper was able to catch the dog and drag the wild animal to a fenced-in property, but also suffered serious injuries during the rescue attempt.

The neighbor was taken to Oberwart Hospital. An emergency helicopter crew flew the dog's owner to a hospital in Graz.

Vet examines the case
The aggressive four-legged friend was a six-year-old mixed breed of Border Collie and Bernese Mountain Dog. "The dog was behaving very strangely. The fact that it acted extremely dangerously from one second to the next could have medical causes. Severe pain or similar symptoms could have been the trigger, a brain tumor is also possible," explains a veterinarian.

A vet was called in to examine the dog in detail.