Update: The boy's mother told Hoodline that someone who, "knows the owners reached out to us, and said the owners do not look like very good people."

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A four-year-old boy in San Francisco was left with severe injuries after a dog attack near his preschool, sparking outrage and consternation following a now viral Nextdoor post by the boy's mother. Clare, who asked Hoodline not to use her last name, stated, "my four-year-old son was attacked and severely injured by a large, vicious dog near his preschool in the Marina," noting that incident took place on May 22 when an unleashed white Husky mix dog lunged at her son and bit him multiple times. The young boy required medical attention for a deep wound and several small cuts that, in total, necessitated five stitches and a painful round of rabies vaccine shots due to the owners fleeing without providing necessary medical information.

VIEW THE VIDEO HERE ON NEXTDOOR

The incident occurred when the boy and his nanny turned the corner by an outdoor restaurant where the dog owners were eating and allegedly drinking beers. The dog, who was not leashed while the couple sat at their outdoor table, then mauled the boy for what appeared to be no reason.

The mother said that she collected video footage from helpful businesses in the area, but was unable to assertain the identities of the dog's owners, who, according to Clare, told the boy's nanny they did not speak English before returning to finish their beers at the nearby restaurant. The victim's mother also tried to get the individuals' names via credit card information from the restuarant, but she was told that they paid in cash.

The situation echoes a disturbing pattern where dog owners exhibit a lack of accountability after their dogs harm others and consequences seem insufficient, as evidenced by the tale of a pit bull attack at Baker Beach in November 2023, SFist reported, the attack involved a dog that its owner suggested was provoked by "pulse lasers in me from the CIA" and claimed the dog actually worked for the CIA, even though the owner retrieved the dog without repercussion due to a federal jurisdiction loophole over Baker Beach, a national park.

San Francisco is also not new to notorious encounters with violent dogs. In an infamous 2001 incident, two Presa Canarios belonging to Marjorie Knoller attacked and killed a woman named Diane Whipple in her Pacific Heights apartment building. Knoller, who has been imprisoned following the widely reported case, was more recently denied parole again in 2023 as reported by ABC7 News.

In fact, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that ER visits related to dog bites in California is up by about 60% since 2005, when there were 73 per 100,000 residents. In contrast, there were 125 such dog bite-related ER cases per 100,000 California residents in 2022.

Amidst calls for stricter accountability and community safety, San Francisco residents find themselves caught between jurisdictional gaps and the challenges of ensuring such incidents do not repeat. According to the Nextdoor post, the family is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the dog and its owners to avert future dangers, especially to children in the neighborhood.

After the initial release of this article, a user on Reddit suspected that they may have found another photo of the dog's owners. Another suggested, "you should send a tip to the victims."