San Francisco Animal Care and Control disputed the Police Department’s timeline of the death of a dog that attacked a person in the Tenderloin neighborhood Tuesday morning.
Police Chief Derrick Lew said at a press conference shortly after the attack that the dog died after being transferred to the custody of Animal Care and Control.
The person was attacked by the pit bull in the 500 block of Larkin Street at about 9:20 a.m., leaving them hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, according to the Police Department.
Deb Campbell, a spokesperson for Animal Care and Control, said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon that the dog was dead by the time Animal Care and Control officers arrived.
Video that was shared on social media showed the dog loose as SFPD officers arrived, before it was restrained by a police officer with a tool called a control pole, also referred to as a catch pole, which is a pole with a loop at the end that is designed to go around a dog’s neck for the purpose of guiding or controlling it.
Campbell said proper training is needed to ensure the tool is used correctly.
She said the Police Department requested that Animal Care and Control officers respond to the scene to take custody of the dog. When Animal Care and Control officers arrived, the dog was dead and had the control pole around its neck.
Campbell declined to speculate on the case specifically, but said in comparable cases involving a violent attack, an assessment would be made, and a dog deemed a threat would be euthanized.
She said the owner had not contacted the shelter, but if the dog had not died, it would not be released to an owner after such an attack while its fate was being determined.
She said a dog involved in an attack might need to be held by the shelter as evidence if the Police Department requested it.