Owner of Labrador attacked by American Staffordshire terrier still concerned

Readers may remember the case reported last July when a free-roaming American Staffordshire terrier (not to be confused with the Staffordshire Bull terrier breed in the United Kingdom) attacked a Labrador in Baar in April, biting it in the back and thigh, for which treatment was necessary. The latter’s owner subsequently took legal action against the owner, leading to his being fined CHF 250, and took the matter up with the Cantonal Veterinary Office, (KVA) too.

In other cantons, such American Staffordshire terriers (photograph) have to be on a lead and wear a muzzle at all times when out, but this is not the case in Zug.

After this initial incident in April, another attack involving an American Staffordshire terrier occurred in June, this time on a Cocker spaniel, leading to it sustaining a serious injury to the chest. Following this incident, the owner of the attacking dog was fined CHF 300. This led to great fear among dog owners in the local community that another dog might be attacked, hence a residents’ meeting about it was arranged, too.

This incident was also reported to the KVA, which has the power to fine offenders. Indeed, in extreme cases it can even order dogs to be put down.

Speaking in July, the owner of the Labrador criticised the KVA for not doing enough, not least as she had since seen an American Staffordshire terrier out again and still not on a lead.

For its part, the KVA is not allowed to comment on specific cases owing to animal protection rights, though cantonal vet Rainer Nussbaumer did say that the usual procedure was that enquiries were made to find out exactly what happened, offending dogs having to attend a behavioural assessment session.

However, the owner of the Labrador was still not happy with this, as a behavioural assessment session with the American Staffordshire terrier dog showed he was just friendly towards human beings. “We are not talking about human beings in this case,” she said, “We are talking about other dogs.” Hence, she insists another behavioural assessment session takes place. Furthermore, she has brought the matter to the attention of the mayor of Baar, Andreas Hotz. He said the matter had been discussed at a meeting between the council and the police, though it is not known whether a further behavioural assessment session has been carried out, enquiries into this are currently being made. Legally, there is nothing more the council can do.

What did Nussbaumer have to say? As mentioned, he is not allowed to comment on specific cases, but he did say that the KVA had reacted accordingly following both incidents and measures had been taken. Owners had been told what to do and prove they had done so, random checks being carried out, too. “And if we do not notice anything, you can be sure the neighbours will,” he said, adding how this was a reliable source of information.