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Photo: Franziska Kraufmann/ dpa
If you stroke a dog, you are not automatically responsible if the animal bites you.
In this specific case, a young woman from Rhineland-Palatinate was injured by a Rottweiler whom she had known for a long time.
The Frankenthal district court awarded her compensation for pain and suffering in the amount of 4,000 euros.
(Ref.: 9 O 42/21)
According to a statement from the court, the woman had visited a friend and was sitting with her in the kitchen.
The girlfriend's brother's Rottweiler was also there.
The visitor had therefore often played and cuddled with the male without there being any problems.
But this time the dog snapped at her and bit her left ear.
The wound required stitches and the woman was unable to work for more than a week.
She still complains of pain from pressure and cold.
The brother, who is being sued as the pet owner, argued that the woman was partly to blame because she bent down and disturbed the dog.
Has the Rottweiler been disturbed while eating?
The district court first made it clear that a dog owner is always liable, even if they are not accused of wrong behavior or other faults.
Under certain circumstances, however, an injured person could be partly to blame if they themselves had behaved incorrectly.
But that is not the case here.
The woman who was bitten had known the Rottweiler for a long time and so far there had been no aggressive behavior from the dog.
In such cases, you are not to blame if you stroke or hug it.
The dog owner had argued that the rottweiler had just eaten and that the woman had been clearly warned.
However, the district court did not see this as proven.
The doubts were at the expense of the holder.
bbr/AFP