Tomiquia Moss was walking her dog Pepper near Fairyland Park in Oakland when she says two large dogs jumped two fences to escape from nearby bocce courts and charged toward them. Within seconds, she says, the two dogs had Pepper in their grip, shaking her body while their owner was unable to gain control of them. Pepper died the next morning despite emergency treatment, and now Moss and her family are demanding answers about how it happened and whether it could happen again.
Moss said the two dogs escaped from nearby bocce courts before the attack, according to ABC7 Bay Area. “It feels like Pepper was stolen from us,” Moss told the station. She said the dogs' owner was unable to gain control of the animals while the attack was underway.
A worker nearby helped rush Pepper to a veterinarian once the attack ended, per Moss's account. A veterinarian assessed that Pepper was in critical condition and needed specialty care, Moss said, and the dog went on to receive extensive treatment, including a blood transfusion, in the hours that followed. Despite that effort, Pepper died the following morning.
A Daughter's Call Turns Into a Scream for Help
Moss's daughter, Torii Lola, was on the phone with her mother when the attack happened. She told the outlet's report that she heard her mother scream for help during their call. Moss said, “It feels like she was stolen from us. She was taken from us.”
Lola said she hopes that some form of justice for Pepper will help her feel better about what happened. Moss has described Pepper as an irreplaceable family member and said she will miss the dog's presence as what she called a prominent spirit in their lives.
Unverified Reports of Past Incidents Surface Online
After Pepper's death, the family turned to social media seeking information and said they received messages from people claiming to have witnessed similar incidents involving the same dogs. Lola said some of those who reached out claimed they had seen prior incidents and that their own dogs had been attacked as well. Posts on Reddit and neighborhood forums have also described previous encounters involving two dogs and an owner matching the family's description, the station's report notes.
None of those accounts of earlier incidents have been independently verified. Oakland Animal Services is now working with the family to investigate whether the dogs involved in Pepper's death have a documented history of aggression, though the city said it could not comment further because the matter remains an active investigation.
What Oakland and State Law Say About Dangerous Dogs
Oakland residents who want to report a dog bite or file a barking complaint are directed to call the Oakland Animal Services shelter at 510-535-4884, according to Oakland Animal Services. If an aggressive dog is at large or a stray animal needs emergency assistance, the agency directs residents instead to call the Oakland police non-emergency line at 510-777-3333.
Under state law cited by California Legislative Information, if an animal-control or law-enforcement officer investigates and finds probable cause to believe a dog is potentially dangerous or vicious, the chief officer of the public animal shelter or animal-control department may become involved.
Part of a Wider Bay Area Pattern
San Francisco recorded 74 dog attacks between January and September of this year, according to city data obtained by KRON4. That outlet reported that a woman was mauled and dragged by a dog on Larkin Street in San Francisco just the week before its article published, and that a San Francisco police officer shot an off-leash husky-shepherd mix last year after reports of aggressive behavior toward strangers on Market Street, with the dog biting a backup officer during the response.
A separate dog attack on a Tenderloin sidewalk outside an apartment building prompted a city supervisor to push for stricter pet-safety requirements for residents who keep dogs, according to CBS San Francisco. It was unclear whether the dog's owner lived at a city shelter, transitional housing facility, or supportive-housing site covered by the proposed rules. San Francisco officials have advised anyone bitten by a dog to seek immediate medical attention and to call 911 for severe injuries, per KRON4's reporting.
For the Moss family, the goal now is accountability and awareness as Oakland Animal Services continues its review. Until that investigation concludes, the circumstances that led two dogs to escape the bocce courts near Fairyland Park, and whether anyone will face consequences, remain unresolved.
