A 35-year-old professional soldier and hunter was due to stand trial at the Salzburg Regional Court on Monday. The charge was animal cruelty. The man is said to have left his Bavarian Mountain Dog in a metal box in the back of his pick-up truck in Bischofshofen on April 8, 2024, when the outside temperature was 25 degrees. The three-year-old male died.
The man told the judge that he had parked briefly in the open parking deck of a shopping center late in the afternoon and had been gone for twenty minutes to run an errand. He even considered covered parking. “But since it was cloudy and I couldn’t find a parking spot downstairs, I didn’t think it would be a problem.” He reached into the dog crate as he left the car. “But it wasn’t warm there and the dog wasn’t panting or anything. And I knew the shopping wouldn’t last long.’
While the man was shopping, two witnesses noticed the animal in the box. “The dog was barking, but it didn’t sound like normal barking,” said one of the two women in the lawsuit. It was warm in summer. “Because it was not clear how long the dog had been in the box, we called the police.” The officers came to the car almost at the same time as the dog owner.
CPR could no longer save the four-legged friend
“He then pulled the dog out of the box, but the dog stopped moving. He started chest compressions, but to no avail,” the witness describes. At the time she was very angry with the suspect because the dog had suffered. “I wanted to say something to him, but then there was so much pain in his voice. He was very exhausted and kept shouting the dog’s name and trying to revive him.”
The previously innocent father of the family pleaded not guilty during the trial. “I’m sorry this happened like this. This will haunt me for the rest of my life. I hope for all other dog owners that this doesn’t happen to them.”
Even a small opening cannot guarantee cooling!
The Public Prosecution Service had previously criticized the fact that the dog box on the loading area was painted black, only had holes in the back wall and prevented effective passage. “You know that opening a car window just a crack does not prevent high temperatures in the car,” she asked the 35-year-old. “The box probably warmed up significantly in a short period of time during the trip to the mall.”
The defendant defended himself by relying on the professional dog crate he had purchased three weeks before the incident. “But I wouldn’t use them like this again,” he admitted. There may also have been another reason for his animal’s death, he said during the trial. Contrary to what was discussed with the police, he did not take the dog to a vet after the incident. “I was shocked. And the rigor mortis had already started,” he says today.
The court acquitted the 35-year-old of animal cruelty. The judgment is not final
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
