The daily rush from one place to another in the center of Riga turned into an unexpected and unpleasant incident for the man. In a place with a large flow of people, a woman with a large dog passed by him, which suddenly bit the man on the arm.
Peters reached out to the editorial office, expressing his outrage at what happened. According to him, the dog unexpectedly bit him on the arm, but even more surprising was the behavior of the owner — she did not stop, did not apologize, and did not react to what had happened, even though the man experienced severe shock.
“Surprise mixed with shock. At first, I didn’t even understand — did this really happen? I was walking to my car, my thoughts were completely elsewhere, when a woman with a large dog was coming towards me.
In the next moment, I felt a sharp pain — the dog bit me on the arm.
I screamed and stopped, but the owner didn’t even look back. She just walked on as if nothing had happened.
Honestly, I was confused. I didn’t know what to do in such a situation — should I have called the police immediately? Fortunately, the bite was not serious enough to require medical assistance.
What worries me the most is the thought — what if it had been a child in my place,” Peters shared his experience.
We reached out for a comment to the municipal police of the city of Riga. Ieva Lukazha-Apalupa, acting chief communication specialist of the municipal police of the city of Riga, explains: “Current regulations do not prohibit dogs from being in public places without a muzzle.
According to Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 411 “Rules for the Welfare and Protection of Domestic (Pet) Animals,” the use of a muzzle is required when transporting an animal in public transport, a taxi, or a passenger car providing commercial transportation services.
The use of a muzzle is also required everywhere outside the owner’s property if the dog is recognized as dangerous according to Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 428 “Procedure for Recognizing a Dog as Dangerous and Requirements for Keeping a Dangerous Dog.”
The representative of the municipal police confirms that both the State Police and the municipal police of the city of Riga would respond to such cases where aggressive behavior of an animal causes harm to another person or animal.
“As for the consequences, according to the Animal Protection Law, for violation of animal keeping rules resulting in physical harm to another animal or physical or material damage to a person,
a monetary fine of 70 to 1875 euros is imposed on individuals, and 110 to 3000 euros on legal entities. If a person suffers bodily harm that forensic examination determines as at least minor, the dog may be recognized as dangerous.”
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