Baker Beach is a mile-long stretch of San Francisco’s rocky shoreline with gorgeous views of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. It’s always been a favorite spot for Allison Hooker to visit, but the events of Nov. 9, 2023, have likely marred her views of the federally owned beach.

Ms. Hooker, a 39-year-old real estate agent and standup comedian, went for a run in the park that morning before deciding to chat on the phone with a friend. That’s when a large, black pitbull named Sky Bear came “beelining straight for [her]” and began to attack.

“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,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle.  

Eventually, the dog’s owner, a houseless man named George Jeppson, came to grab his dog. But Ms. Hooker had already suffered 13 bites across her shoulders, back, arms, hands, thighs, and buttocks. What’s more, she said, the owner didn’t seem all too concerned about the attack. Ms. Hooker said Mr. Jeppson failed to even scold Sky Bear before explaining to Ms. Hooker that “his dog is trained to attack” and he “may be amused by his dog attacking people.”

“The owner told me his dog was provoked by my internal struggle or by pulse lasers in me from the CIA,” Ms. Hooker said in a complaint to the U.S. Park Police. “I love dogs… however, this is not a dog that can be released back into society.”

Sky Bear was kept in a temporary quarantine – where he reportedly had behavioral issues – for 10 days to ensure he didn’t have rabies. Then, San Francisco Animal Care and Control gave Sky Bear back to Mr. Jeppson with instructions to keep the dog leashed and muzzled when near large crowds. 

Ms. Hooker’s attack left scars, but she survived. Other women who’ve been in similar situations weren’t so lucky. Think back to the devastating case of Diane Whipple – a college lacrosse coach who was attacked by a Presa Canario in the hallway of her San Francisco apartment.

Upon returning from the grocery store in January 2001, Ms. Whipple was bitten almost 80 times by a nearly 130-pound dog named Bane. The dog, who was notoriously aggressive with neighbors, punctured her trachea, and Ms. Whipple did not survive.

In the aftermath of the attack, investigators started looking into the possibility that Bane’s owners – Robert Noel and his wife Marjorie Knoller – were part of an illicit operation of selling dogs to criminal buyers.

“They were raising attack dogs. San Francisco police suspected [the dogs] were going to the Mexican Mafia, going to protect their drug operations,” one corrections official said.

That’s when the couple made an official accusation against Whipple saying she was to blame for her own death. They also accused her of striking Knoller in the face before the dog even started to bite.

After being indicted on charges of manslaughter for  Noel – who wasn’t present for the attack – and second-degree murder for Knoller, both were eventually found guilty. In addition, Whipple’s partner was awarded $1.5 million in damages following a subsequent civil suit. Noel was paroled in 2003 and died in 2018, but Knoller remains in jail. She was denied parole, again, just last year, and the next time she’s eligible for parole won’t be until 2026.

Some could say justice was served after the devastating attack on Whipple. But Ms. Hooker’s attack – though, thankfully, not deadly – was handled quite differently. 

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Hooker’s case couldn’t go through the city’s normal processing because the attack didn’t happen on city property. Normally, local officials would take the case and begin proceedings to determine whether or not the dog is vicious and dangerous, but Baker Beach is federal land which meant the city authorities’ hands were tied.

Local officials weren’t able to put Ms. Hooker’s case through their normal process to determine whether a dog is vicious and dangerous because the attack happened on federal land.

“San Francisco remains open to allowing our federal partners to participate in our program for addressing dangerous dogs,” City Attorney spokesperson Jen Kwart said in a statement. “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.”

Ms. Hooker wants to make it clear that allowing off-leash dogs in certain areas is “not the problem.” But she thinks the jurisdictional issues present in her rare case need addressing. 

“Why that gap can’t get closed is kind of beyond everyone,” she said.