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At the last Precita Valley Neighbors meeting, issues about aggressive off-leash dogs in Precita Park has come up. Officer John Denny will talk about this in our February 13th PVN Meeting.

Here's some excerpts from a discussion with Officer J. Denny:

First and foremost, anyone who encounters a dog that exhibits "menacing and/or aggressive behavior" (Article 1, Section 42 of the San Francisco Health Code) should immediately summon the police who should then respond and take control of the situation as well as document the incident with a police report.   If the incident  is in progress or if all parties are on scene then I would urge a 911 call.  (The direct cell phone number to a SF 911 dispatcher is 553-8090)

What many people (and, alas, police officers) are unaware of is that a police report should be made ANY time a dog exhibits menacing and/or aggressive behavior.  While a bite is obviously an example of menacing and/or aggressive behavior, such behavior ALSO includes lunging, snapping, charging and near-miss bites or bites that occur without leaving any marks.

For example, if a dog owner is walking his/her dog down a sidewalk and the dog is on its hind legs pulling at its leash while snapping and snarling (hopefully it is on a leash) while trying to get at people or other dogs, it only takes the snap of a chain or the drop of the leash and the dog is free and, as such, creates a danger to  the public.  I suggest calling the police via 911.

ALL reports of dog aggression should find their way to my desk where an investigation shall be initiated.  Many times the result of  the investigation require that a Vicious and Dangerous Dog Hearing be held to determine remedies that would prevent future incidents involving the dog in question.  As I am the scheduling officer for the hearings and my supervisor is the hearing officer (Sgt. Herndon) the process usually runs smoothly (now I've jinxed it).

So , in short, and we will expand on this topic at our meeting, nobody should be in fear of being attacked or having their dog attacked by while in public.  There is a mechanism in place that deals with specific dogs. But the mechanism is engaged only once we know about the aggressive dog and its actions (via police reports).

Labels: Dog park, Precita Valley Neighbors