SF Official Pushes 'Dog Court' Return
- San Francisco Supervisor Stephen Sherrill is pressing City Hall to restart the city’s “dog court” after reported bite cases climbed and hearings stalled. - San Francisco reported 926 dog bites in 2025, up from 868 in 2024, while 61 cases were still waiting for hearings. - The hearings officer post has sat vacant for nearly a year, leaving enforcement orders in limbo. (abc7news.com)
San Francisco Supervisor Stephen Sherrill is pushing to restart the city’s “dog court” after dog-bite reports rose again and hearings stopped. (abc7news.com) ABC7 reported April 24 that Sherrill wants the city to fill a vacant administrative hearing officer job that has left the system paused for nearly a year. (abc7news.com) San Francisco Animal Care and Control told ABC7 it reported 868 dog bites to the state in 2024 and 926 in 2025. (abc7news.com) SFist, citing local reporting, said 61 dog-bite cases were waiting for hearings as of April 24. It said the hearing system was suspended in 2024 and briefly returned in January 2025 before closing again in July. (sfist.com) The “dog court” is not a criminal courtroom. It is an administrative hearing process used to decide whether a dog is “vicious and dangerous” and what restrictions an owner must follow. (sanfranciscopolice.org) (media.api.sf.gov) San Francisco Police Department policy says the hearing officer can determine whether a dog is deemed vicious and dangerous, which can lead to restrictions on the dog and owner. (sanfranciscopolice.org) (media.api.sf.gov) ABC7 said investigations are still being handled by the San Francisco Police Department’s Vicious and Dangerous Dog Unit. Without hearings, orders such as muzzling, mandatory obedience training, or euthanasia in severe cases are not being imposed through that process. (abc7news.com) Sherrill told ABC7 that “the money is there” and “the position is there,” and said the Board of Supervisors should make sure the post is filled. (abc7news.com) The city’s Commission of Animal Control and Welfare is an advisory body, according to SF.gov. Final policy decisions rest with the Board of Supervisors, the mayor, and the city administrator. (sf.gov) ABC7 reported that Sherrill expects the hiring issue to come before the Board of Supervisors in May. For now, San Francisco’s bite investigations are moving forward, but the hearing room that turns those cases into enforceable orders is still idle. (abc7news.com)
