Allison Hooker was attacked and bitten by a pit bull at Baker Beach in San Francisco in November.
A lifelong dog lover and owner, Allison Hooker never thought that one day, the mere sight of a certain type of dog would cause fear to course through her body.
But now, whenever the 39-year-old real estate agent and standup comedian glimpses a large black pit bull, she’s transported back to the traumatic events of Nov. 9, 2023.
That morning, Hooker was chatting on the phone after going for a run on Baker Beach, one of her favorite areas in San Francisco with a stunning view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Looking up, she suddenly saw a big dog “beelining straight for me” from about 100 feet away.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
It then launched “straight into biting me,” Hooker told me recently.
Stunned and screaming, Hooker pulled her arms into her chest and started spinning in circles, trying to prevent the dog from latching onto her limbs.
“It tore my sweater all the way up my shoulder because it was jumping that high on me, trying, I think, to go for my neck,” Hooker told me. She later counted 13 bites across her hands, arms, shoulders, thighs, back and buttocks, including particularly nasty bites on her right forearm, left thumb and buttocks that resulted in deep purple scars.
Eventually, the dog’s owner walked over and pulled the dog off Hooker. But, she said, the owner — whom officials identified as a homeless man named George Jeppson living in a car with Utah license plates — didn’t appear disturbed by the attack and didn’t reprimand his dog, Sky Bear.
“The owner admitted that his dog is trained to attack and may be amused by his dog attacking people,” Hooker said in a complaint filed with the U.S. Park Police, which, according to a spokesperson, cited Jeppson for failing to leash and restrain his dog. “The owner told me his dog was provoked by my internal struggle or by pulse lasers in me from the CIA.”
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
“I love dogs,” she added in the complaint. “However, this is not a dog that can be released back into society.”
About 10 days later, however, San Francisco Animal Care and Control authorities released Sky Bear — whom they’d temporarily quarantined to ensure he didn’t have rabies — back to Jeppson, advising him to keep the dog leashed and muzzled around large crowds.
Allison Hooker holds her puppy Ramón at Baker Beach, where she was attacked by a pit bull in November.
Judging by internal memos I reviewed, this probably wasn’t the agency’s preferred course of action: Jepson lectured animal control officers about “government mind control,” asserted that he worked for the CIA, and argued that pit bulls “have been used for mind control research.” Sky Bear also did poorly in the shelter, exhibiting aggressive behavior that negatively affected other animals and made it difficult for technicians to administer medication, the notes show.
But the decision wasn’t in local officials’ hands.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
“Right or wrong is not in play — it’s what the law says that we’re able to do,” Animal Care and Control spokesperson Deb Campbell told me.
Had Hooker been attacked on city property, her case would have gone through San Francisco’s process for determining whether a dog is vicious and dangerous. This culminates in an independent hearing officer deciding what actions, if any, should be taken to protect public safety — such as owner education, obedience training, requiring the dog to wear a muzzle, and in extremely rare situations, euthanasia.
But when Hooker called city authorities for an update on her case, they told her their hands were tied because the attack had happened on federal land. Lacking jurisdiction, they had no choice but to release Sky Bear.
“I was so livid,” Hooker told me.
City and federal officials could resolve this jurisdictional issue quickly, but thus far they’ve chosen not to.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
For years, they operated under an informal agreement that allowed San Francisco officials to handle dangerous dog cases that happened on federal land within the city. That fell apart in 2019 when a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled that city officials have no jurisdiction over federal property — siding with a woman who appealed San Francisco Animal Care and Control’s classification of her dog as vicious and dangerous after an incident at Crissy Field, which is on federal land.
More than four years later, local and federal officials still haven’t closed this loophole — and few players involved seem willing to step up to the plate.
A U.S. Park Police spokesperson referred my questions about jurisdiction to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which said, “Park law enforcement continues to respond to reports of dog bites … using the same enforcement actions that have always been available to us.”
City Attorney spokesperson Jen Kwart told me in a statement, “San Francisco remains open to allowing our federal partners to participate in our program for addressing dangerous dogs. While talks to reach an agreement in 2019 stalled, we have recently restarted these conversations with the Presidio Trust with regard to federal land under the Trust’s jurisdiction.”
Stuck in this legal limbo, Hooker is taking steps to protect herself.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
She still goes on runs, but now she carries mace. She’s extra careful when unknown dogs are around her partner’s kids. And she’s especially alert when taking her new puppy, Ramon, out on walks.
Hooker still firmly supports allowing dogs to go off-leash in certain areas of San Francisco “because that’s not the problem.” The real issue, she said, is the lack of political will to develop a process for handling cases like hers, rare as they may be.
“Why that gap can’t get closed is kind of beyond everyone,” she said.
Reach Emily Hoeven: emily.hoeven@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @emily_hoeven
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Donald Low
Mort Laitner
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
Michael Kwet
visit website
