When Irina Gerber (Name changed) sees the woman with the Dalmatian in the neighborhood, she instinctively changes the side of the street. It’s been four years since the dog attacked her three-year-old daughter, and the girl is still scared to this day. The owner only had to answer to the court in July of this year because the Dalmatian attacked a child again at the beginning of 2021 and bit an adult. The court left it with a fine and a raised index finger.
Just over a week ago, the Dalmatian snapped shut again, bit off part of the ear of a four-year-old. According to the police, the owner was very drunk that evening. “The veterinary office has been standing idly by for years,” complains Irina Gerber. The dog came to the animal shelter, but it did not stay there long: The KVR decreed that the animal should be entrusted to a friend of the owner. “The owner and the friend picked up the animal together last week,” says animal shelter spokeswoman Kristina Berchtold.
There were real hunting scenes that Ludwig B. (name changed) portrayed during an appeal hearing in July. He was out walking with his family in Neuhausen on New Year’s afternoon when a free-running Dalmatian attacked his four-year-old son on Rotkreuzplatz. The boy suffered a scratch on his face, then the dog tore off the hood of the anorak.
The 13-year-old brother was the first with the little one, wanted to protect him, the Dalmatian had attacked him too. When Ludwig B. came running, the dog bit his upper arm. The dog owner, a 56-year-old doctor with her own surgical practice, appeared “totally absent”, “as if she was drunk” and did nothing for minutes. Then she disappeared with the dog in a doorway. Ludwig B. collapsed and had to be treated in a clinic. “The dog has already bitten several,” says the man from Neuhausen.
In court, the defendant alleged that the dog leash had “inexplicably” come off. “You don’t think I’ll let my dog run on the four-lane Nymphenburger Strasse.” In court it is also discussed that the KVR had already ordered a muzzle compulsory in previous years and lifted it again. Now the owner has to keep her Dalmatian on a tear-resistant, maximum two meters long leash.
“I cannot take your apology and your remorse seriously,” said the prosecutor. In this case, a conviction for willful assault could have been considered. The court sentenced the doctor to a fine of 11,700 euros for negligent bodily harm. And the judge told the woman that she was not allowed to take the dog out if she had drunk alcohol and that the dog was “like a dangerous object”.
On Friday, September 17th, according to the police, the doctor was on the road again at 7.30 p.m. with the Dalmatian and with around two per thousand. This time the leashed dog attacked a four-year-old boy who was sitting on a metal bracket on the sidewalk with his bike after a fall. The dog bit off part of the boy’s ear. Passers-by notified the emergency doctor and the police. The four year old came to a clinic. The police cannot say whether the ear could be sewn on again.
The city of Munich operates a website with rules for dog owners and also with a form where incidents with dogs can be reported. KVR spokesman Johannes Mayer cannot say whether and how many attacks by the Dalmatian were reported for data protection reasons. Just so much about the usual procedure: After an incident, everyone involved is heard; at the end of the day, the KVR can issue measures such as leash or muzzle, up to and including the prohibition of keeping a dog.
In the current case, after at least three biting attacks, the KVR “referred” the Dalmatian to the animal shelter. Namely to a friend of the former owner. The woman and her acquaintance picked up the dog five days after the last incident, says Kristina Berchtold. The animal was very excited, says Kristina Berchtold, but it calmed down and did not attack anyone in the animal shelter. According to KVR, it will be checked whether the new owner adheres to requirements.
In any case, Irina Gerber remains cautious when taking walks. In 2017, the Dalmatian cut off part of her daughter’s eyelid with one bite. “The scar can still be seen today.” The dog was on a leash and had a ribbon tied around its mouth. He could snap shut anyway. The Dalmatian attacks mainly children, puppies and old, sick people in the neighborhood. “I already know about five cases.” Rumor has it in the neighborhood that the owner has enough “vitamin B”. Gerber hopes that something will change after all. “Because it can’t go on like this.”