Vicious & dangerous dog hearings ::

A collection of vicious and dangerous dog hearings captured on video or audio. These quasi-judicial hearings often attempt to be less formal, not requiring participants to have an attorney.

Featured videos & audio

Pit bull attack - Public Library

Dangerous Dog Hearing

February 1, 2022
San Francisco, California | 1:51m

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On January 16, 2022, a security officer at the central San Francisco Public Library was attacked by an alleged "service" pit bull while attempting to check on the welfare of the dog's owner, who was unresponsive. Part of the vicious attack was captured on video.
Pit bull attack -

Dangerous Dog Hearing

May 15, 2019
San Bernardino, California | 28m

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On January 16, 2019, Lana Bergman was killed by four pit bulls belonging to two "guests" on her property. After the attack, the owners fought to keep their pit bulls. In May, a Dangerous Dog determination hearing was held. The pit bull owners failed to appear.

Lakota and Cochise dangerous dog hearing

Dangerous Dog Hearing

August 29, 2019
San Francisco, California | 1:04m

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On July 18, 2019, a man was walking his small dog on a leash when two pit bulls, "Cochise" and "Lakota," broke free from their leash, chased the victims into oncoming traffic and attacked them. Dramatic footage of the attack is included, which begins at 2:49 minutes.
Tank dangerous dog hearing

Dangerous Dog Hearing

March 10, 2016
San Francisco, California | 1:17m

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"Tank" the pit bull attacked a trainer at a dog training facility. The hearing that resulted is unusual, as it was brought by San Francisco Animal Care and Control on behalf of the dog, not the human victim. View the attack footage and a partial transcript of this hearing.

Documentary series

A documentary team created a three-part series about the failure of San Francisco Animal Care and Control to enforce leash laws, to monitor vicious dogs and to operate a fair hearing process.

Documentary - Vicious and Dangerous Dogs Unleashed

Vicious and Dangerous Dogs

November 2018
San Francisco | 44m

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The second installment focuses on the failure of San Francisco Animal Care and Control to properly manage the risks posed by vicious and dangerous dogs. It features parts of hearings and a presentation by John Denny, a veteran Vicious and Dangerous Dog hearing officer.
Documentary - San Francisco Animal Control Conflicts of Interest

Conflict of Interest: Animal Control

May 2019
San Francisco, California | 34m

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The third installment focuses on the shameless conflict of interest of Virginia Donohue in serving as the Executive Director of San Francisco Animal Care and Control (SFACC) while co-owning a private, for-profit animal boarding and dog training facility in the city.

Criminal defense attorneys

When defense attorneys are involved, the tone of these administrative hearings shifts dramatically. Defense attorneys do not always help the owner of the accused dog win their case either.

dogo argentino dangerous dog hearing

Dangerous Dog Hearing

May 28, 2019
Los Angeles, California | 24m

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In January 2019, an unaltered dogo Argentino named "Archi" escaped its owner's property and brutally attacked a man jogging on Amestoy Avenue. During this appeal hearing, the commissioners tell the defense attorney a few times, "You are not helping your case."
Bear Dangerous Dog Hearing

Dangerous Dog Hearing

March 18, 2016
Miami-Dade, Florida | 30m

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In 2015, three family dogs brutally killed Carmen Reigada, 91. The perpetrators were an American bulldog-mix, "Bear," a Rhodesian ridgeback-mix and a Labrador-mix. Reigada's great-grandson owned the dogs and appealed the county's ruling to euthanize the dogs.

Additional hearings

City council meetings

Vicious dog hearings

Videos of vicious dog attacks »