A German Shepherd attacked a man – and the dog was described as ‘crazy’ and ‘unpredictable’

According to prosecutors, the German shepherd was known to be unpredictable and could attack strangers in its territory. Illustration image. Environmental Protection Agency/Australian Conservation Agency

An aggressive German shepherd dog sneaked through the front door and attacked a man who was sitting in the yard.

The case decided by the Central Finland Court of Appeal took place in October 2022.

A man and a woman who knew each other beforehand came to the woman’s house from the restaurant. Both of them drank alcohol that night.

The woman said during questioning that she did not remember why she had initially gone in. The woman has two dogs. He said that normally the door in the middle of his hall was always closed, but this time it was apparently open for some reason. The woman said that in the dark she did not notice the dogs coming out of the open door.

The dog slinked into the yard and attacked the man as he sat waiting.

Unusually severe pain

The dog bit the man, who was sitting in the yard, on his chest, thigh, and hand several times. The dog tore off the man’s arms and coat and jumped on him. The man tried to protect himself from the dog but eventually fell to the ground. From there, he managed to grab the dog’s fur. At this time, the woman also arrived, grabbed the dog, and took it back to the apartment.

The man suffered bites and bruises during the incident. According to prosecutors, the man also experienced unusually intense pain and soreness for the situation. He was hospitalized for two days for his injuries, went to the emergency room for surgery for a suspected wound infection, and took several days off sick.

The following spring, the man also developed nerve pain.

The man was not afraid of dogs before the incident, but according to prosecutors, because of the incident, the man developed a fearful attitude toward dogs.

‘Crazy’ and ‘unpredictable’

According to prosecutors, the German Shepherd was known to be unpredictable and could attack strangers in its territory. According to the accused woman herself, although she was aware of the dog’s unpredictability, she was not aware that the dog could be aggressive in its territory. She was not aware that the dog would bite people for no reason.

The court heard one witness described the dog as “crazy” and “unpredictable”.

Another witness said the dog was reserved around humans, but the witness had played with it before.

The dog had been muzzled before.

punish

The district court found that the woman caused the man’s injuries through negligence.

Prosecutors requested that the woman be sentenced for causing injury and not supervising an animal. However, the district court only convicted the woman of assault. Prosecutors appealed the matter to the Court of Appeal, which found the woman guilty of the second charge as well.

The woman was sentenced to daily fines totaling €500. In addition, he was ordered to pay the man compensation for pain, suffering and other temporary inconvenience.