Blunt force trauma in the violent death of a dog

Znatan udio predmeta sudskoveterinarskih vještačenja jesu ozljede uzrokovane mehaničkim silama, među kojima su najčešće traume glave. Često se radi o teškim ozljedama koje naposljetku rezultiraju smrću životinje te su uzrokovane nasilnim, a manjim udjelom nesretnim slučajevima zbog čega im se pridaje posebna važnost. Tupe traume glave obilježene su krvarenjima unutar parenhima mozga, između mozgovnih ovojnica, ozljedama moždanog tkiva povezanih s prijelomima lubanje te ozljedama ostalih tkiva glave koje mogu ozbiljno ugroziti život. U prikazanom slučaju određeno je sudskoveterinarsko vještačenje lešine psa za koju se sumnja da je do smrti došlo tijekom borbe pasa. Obdukcijom su nađene ozljede glave, za koje se smatra da su ujedno bile i smrtonosne, te prsnog koša uzrokovane tupim silama, što odbacuje činjenicu da je uzrok uginuća bila borba pasa. Stoga je u ovakvim ili sličnim slučajeva nužno ustanoviti dinamiku nastanka i međusobnu povezanost uočenih ozljeda kako bi se razjasnile okolnosti događaja i pomoglo u pronalaženju počinitelja.A significant proportion of forensic veterinary expertise involves injuries caused by mechanical forces, among which the most common is blunt head trauma. Often, these are injuries that lead to death, and are caused by violence, and less often by accidents, which gives them special significance. Blunt force trauma can result in bleeding in the brain parenchyma, between the meninges, brain tissue injuries associated with skull fractures, and other injuries of the head tissues which may be life-threatening. In the case presented, a forensic veterinary expertise panel determined the cause of death of a dog as occurring in a dog fight. During the autopsy, injuries to the head were found, which were lethal, and injuries of the chest caused by blunt force trauma, which refutes the notion that the cause of the death was a dog fight. Therefore, in this or similar cases, it is necessary to establish the dynamics of the origin and interconnection between the injuries observed, in order to be able to shed light on how they occurred, and help find the offender