"Nero" has to go

Dad or pet: why a family loses a “fighting dog”

Amstaff "Nero" is considered a "list dog" in Upper Austria, which is subject to stricter rules for owners. Other breeds can be registered by people with a criminal record without any problems.(Bild: Marcel H.)

A family from Linz (Upper Austria) has to give up "Nero", a dog they had already taken to their hearts, because his father has a criminal record and the breed is on the "list". Curious: if the ex-con had not been so honest, the Amstaff would still be in the family ...

"Nero" has to go. He shouldn't have been allowed to move into the family of Marcel H. (28) from Linz. Because a serious misstep eight years ago has made the father of the family officially "not trustworthy". And that means he is not allowed to have "Nero" in his "sphere of influence" according to the Dog Keeping Act. This is because the nine-month-old dog is an American Staffordshire Terrier, which, like Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Dogo Argentino, American Pit Bull Terriers, Tosa Inu and their crossbreeds, are listed as "list dogs" in Germany.

More than one year in prison is too much
Anyone "who has been sentenced to more than one year's imprisonment for a grossly negligent or intentional criminal offense" may not have a listed dog until this sentence has been served. And Marcel H. had served 22 months for aggravated commercial fraud. "I declared my previous conviction during the owner training, when I was told that it wasn't a problem," says the man from Linz, who was turned down when registering "Nero".

I told them about my criminal record during the owner training, and they said it wasn't a problem.

Der Linzer Marcel H.

Amstaff "Nero" is considered a "list dog" in Upper Austria, for which stricter rules apply for owners. Other breeds can be registered by people with a criminal record without any problems.(Bild: Marcel H.)

Man or dog - that would have been the choice
"If my wife had registered him, it wouldn't have mattered." That's right, according to an inquiry to Linz City Council. But if they had somehow found out that the "fighting dog" was living in an apartment with the ex-con, either the man or the dog would have had to leave.

The law was more lenient before 2024
To avoid being taken away by the authorities, "Nero" was placed with a friend in Styria, but this is not a permanent solution. The family contacted several authorities - the province of Upper Austria and the mayor of Linz - so that they could keep "Nero", but were turned down everywhere. "I was told that it wouldn't be possible until 2029 at the earliest, once the sentence had been paid," says Marcel H., who is annoyed because he knows people with criminal records who keep listed dogs but registered them before 2024, when the law was even more lenient.