A woman suffered serious injuries Tuesday morning after a large pit bull-type dog attacked and dragged her on the 500 block of Larkin Street in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. The San Francisco Fire Department received a call reporting a traumatic attack incident around 9:20 a.m., and officers ultimately treated the victim in the street.
According to KRON4, San Francisco Police Department animal control officers tried to restrain the dog at the scene, which appeared to have blood on its head by the time officers arrived. Citizen reports cited by the outlet indicate the dog attacked and dragged the woman on Larkin Street before officers intervened. The patient, described only as an adult, suffered serious injuries, according to SF fire officials.
Video posted to the Citizen app captured the chaotic aftermath, showing the woman being treated in the street by officers and, at one point, an officer appearing to aim a weapon at the dog. KRON4 sent a crew to the scene and said it had contacted San Francisco police for more information as the investigation continued.
A Neighborhood Already Familiar With Dog Bites
The Tenderloin has long carried a disproportionate share of San Francisco's dog bite reports. More than a quarter of all dog bites reported to the San Francisco Police Department occur in the neighborhood, according to SFPD statistics reported by Mission Local.
The Tuesday attack also lands amid a broader citywide climb in dog attack numbers. More than 900 dog bites were recorded in 2025, after 450 the year before. That increase has come alongside growing public frustration over how the city enforces dog safety rules in the first place.
Canine Court Backlog Complicates Enforcement
Much of that frustration centers on San Francisco's specialized “canine court,” which handles vicious and dangerous dog hearings determining whether aggressive animals must be muzzled, confined, or euthanized. Those hearings were suspended in July 2025 amid a budget dispute, and the resulting backlog swelled to 66 cases before city officials moved to resume proceedings in mid-2026, Mission Local reported. Hoodline previously covered the empty dog court and Supervisor Stephen Sherrill's push for accountability as bite numbers climbed.
San Francisco's dedicated dog court handles vicious and dangerous dog hearings, according to CBS News Bay Area. That system remains the backdrop against which every subsequent serious attack, including Tuesday's, gets measured.
What the Law Requires
San Francisco Health Code § 41.12 requires dogs in public to be kept on a leash no longer than eight feet. The article does not provide details about SFPD General Order 6.07.
The legal exposure for a dog's owner can extend well beyond a citation. Under California Civil Code § 3342, dog owners are strictly liable for civil damages if their dog bites someone in a public place, regardless of whether the animal had shown vicious behavior before or whether the owner knew of any aggression, according to Impact Attorneys. Separately, California Penal Code § 399 allows for criminal misdemeanor or felony charges against owners who willfully let a dangerous animal run free or fail to exercise ordinary care when that failure results in serious injury or death.
Open Questions in the Investigation
It remains unclear whether the dog's owner has been identified, whether the animal was previously known to Animal Care and Control or SFPD, or whether it will be impounded pending a formal Vicious and Dangerous Dog Hearing. KRON4 said it had reached out to San Francisco police for additional details following the attack, and no further information had been released as of Tuesday afternoon.
San Francisco has taken other steps over the years aimed at curbing dangerous dog incidents. The San Francisco SPCA and Animal Care and Control provide spay-and-neuter services.
