Vital anal mutilation by a dachshund

摘要

Dog bite injuries in the living usually show a characteristic morphology that easily indicates the trauma mechanism. If dogs have access to a corpse, postmortem depredation injuries can occur and the pattern of injury can at first glance be misinterpreted as being caused by third parties. We present the rare case of a premortem animal depredating injury to a living person. Due to unconsciousness caused by a mixed intoxication with alcohol and zopiclone, bite injuries of the owner's dachshund led to an extensive tissue defect in the anal region. Since neither swabs of the wound nor an examination of the dog were available, the cause of injury had to be determined solely on the basis of the wound morphology.