Things got a little more paw-litigation on Thursday, November 17 when Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s rescue dog bit the hand of Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen during his visit to Moldova’s capital, Chişinău.
The incident reportedly occurred while the two leaders were walking in the courtyard of the presidential residence.
The Moldovan leader then brought her rescue dog, named Codrut, to a photo shoot with Van der Bellen and Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar, who was also with them.
In a video Caught by the media, the Austrian president can be seen approaching Sandu and Codrut, bending down and trying to stroke the dog.
However, Codrut lunged at him and hit Van der Bellen’s right hand. According to ReutersSandu apologized in English and explained that the dog had been frightened by the large number of people nearby.
According to PolicySandu adopted Codrut in early 2023 after the dog was hit by a car which resulted in one of his legs being amputated.
In a Instagram postwrote Sandu, “Codruț has been part of our team at the Presidency for around 7 months, after being found in the street hit by a car. Unfortunately, we were unable to save his paw, but after a few months of treatment, he is now happily running on 3 legs.