UPDATE: On June 6, police located the dog and its owners, and Animal Care and Control cited its owners for failure to provide information after a dog bite and failure to report a dog bite to the Department of Animal Care and Control of the San Francisco Health Code. Police said a hearing will be held soon to determine the next steps in the case.
San Francisco police said its “vicious and dangerous dog unit” is investigating after a 4-year-old boy was severely injured in a dog attack near a restaurant and preschool in the Marina.
The boy was walking toward his nanny’s car when a large, “vicious” dog—described as a white husky mix—suddenly chased him down, pinned him to the ground and bit his left arm, his mother wrote on Nextdoor.
The attack left the child with a deep wound, several small cuts and significant blood loss, according to the mother’s account. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The mother said the dog’s owners were dining in outdoor seating at a nearby restaurant with the dog unleashed. She did not immediately respond to The Standard’s request for comment on Tuesday.
In the video provided by ABC7, the white husky dog is seen charging toward the boy before jumping on him. The dogs’ apparent owners then chase after the animal. The dog can later be seen being led away by a man in a black hoodie and jeans.
In a statement, police said the boy’s mother visited the department’s Northern Station around 4 p.m. May 23 to file a report on the attack, which happened shortly after 5 p.m. May 22 on Lombard Street between Lyon and Baker streets.
“The reporting party advised that the other involved parties did not provide any identification or contact information at the time of the incident,” police said.
In her post, the mother said the dog owners allegedly claimed they did not speak English and walked away without providing any identification or information about the dog’s vaccination status.
“Even more shockingly, the dog owners then went back to their table and finished their beers before leaving,” the mother wrote.
In response to comments on her post, the mother said staff at the restaurant, Pizzeria Avellino, told her no billing name was available for the dog’s owners, who paid cash for their meal. The restaurant’s manager could not be reached for comment.
Without details about the dog or its owners, the child had to undergo painful rabies shots and other medical treatment, his mother said. The family is now “deeply traumatized” by the attack, with the boy now expressing fear of dogs.
The mother also shared concern that another similar attack could injure other vulnerable children entering or leaving the nearby preschool, as well as gratitude that another business helped gather information and shared surveillance camera footage that documented the attack.
San Francisco Police Department’s dangerous dog unit investigates an estimated 600-800 dog bite incidents per year, the department said in a release.