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Austrian avoids jailtime for tourist dog attack

The Local Austria
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Austrian avoids jailtime for tourist dog attack
Photo: Frei Sein/Creative Commons

An Austrian who incited her dog into biting a tourist in Vienna in a robbery attempt will not face jail time after agreeing to take therapy for drug addiction.

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The 23-year-old, under the influence of drugs, had set her Staffordshire Terrier ‘Daisy’ on a Swedish couple and their young daughter in March in an attempt to rob the woman of a designer handbag.

The dog ended up biting the Swedish woman in the stomach leaving her with injuries, before running off with the owner who had grabbed the handbag.

“I saw the woman’s Versace bag and thought that I could take it,” the defendant, from the city of Melk, told the court, although she claimed that she did not deploy the dog as a weapon.

“Daisy is actually really good, she just bites out of fear if she notices that I am nervous and in stress,” she said.

The robber was caught after being followed by a bystander who witnessed the attack and was able to point her out to police.

It turned out she was on LSD and ketamine and it was not the first time she had attacked someone with her dog, having previously targeted a 62-year-old carrying a full bag of shopping.

She received a three year sentence from the court this week but will not face time behind bars due to a provision in Austria’s narcotics law that allows the sentence to be suspended if someone agrees to undergo treatment for drug addiction.

The dog was taken to an animal centre and is said to be 'unproblematic'. 

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