Woman dies in vicious dog attack
An elderly woman has died after being attacked by her dogs in a village near Slovenia's second largest city Maribor, according to the police. The dogs used to belong to her son.
Maribor Police Department inspector Matej Harb told reporters the 84-year-old woman was found dead the previous evening behind the fence of her family home in Miklavž na Dravskem Polju, surrounded by three dogs, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
The inquiries so far show she was on her own with a bull terrier and two dogos argentino at the time of the attack.
"Having inspected the scene, the investigators ascertained that the woman most likely died as a result of injuries sustained when one of the dogs attacked her," Harb said.
An investigating judge has ordered a post-mortem for the woman while the veterinary inspectors have sent the dogs to an animal shelter whilst establishing the facts and circumstances of the incident.
Previous owner with a record
The woman's son had been previously subject of misdemeanour proceedings related to the dogs.
He was first investigated in 2023 for failing to ensure the dogs were secured in public areas and for not complying with rabies vaccination, said Helena Dolajš of the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection.
In early 2024, two of the dogs were assigned the status of dangerous dog due to attacks on another dog and a person. All three dogs were taken from their owner in May that year because he was obstructing police, and placed in a shelter, but were later returned to him. He subsequently transferred the dogs' ownership to his mother.
The police investigation continues, including into suspicion of negligent homicide, a crime that carries between six months and five years in prison.
The previous owner had been processed by the police for various criminal offences, including offences under the Animal Welfare Act.
"He has also been handled for offences with elements of violence," Harb said.
Most recent fatal attack in 2021
Until this incident, the Maribor Police Department had not dealt with any case of dog attacks or bites resulting in a person's death in 2025 and 2024.
However, there had been a few fatal cases in the country in the past. Four years ago an eight-year-old girl was mauled to death by a rottweiler-German shepherd mix in Mengeš north of Ljubljana.
In the most infamous case three bullmastiffs killed their owner, a well-known Ljubljana doctor, in 2010 and in 2017 a 71-year-old woman was killed by three pit bulls of her son's near Črnomelj.
