Police restrained the dog after the Tuesday morning attack in the Tenderloin, where the animal later died at the scene.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A woman was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Tuesday after a pit bull attacked her in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, police said. Officers responded at about 9:20 a.m. to the 500 block of Larkin Street and found the injured woman with the dog nearby.
Officers separated the woman from the dog and provided medical aid until paramedics arrived, according to police. The woman was taken to a hospital with injuries authorities described as life-threatening. The San Francisco Standard reported that the unidentified patient was in serious condition at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Authorities had not publicly released her name as of Wednesday.
The dog, described in police accounts as a pit bull, was restrained with a control pole after officers arrived. Police said the animal became unresponsive while being restrained and was declared dead at the scene. San Francisco Animal Care and Control later took possession of the dog’s remains.
There was initial confusion Tuesday over when the dog died. Police Chief Derrick Lew said during a briefing that the dog died after being transferred to Animal Care and Control. Deb Campbell, a spokesperson for the agency, later said its officers arrived to find the dog already dead. She said the animal still had the control pole around its neck when Animal Care and Control reached the scene. Officials had not announced a cause of death.
The dog’s owner was not located at the scene, according to police. Authorities also had not publicly identified the owner by Wednesday. Police continued to investigate the circumstances leading up to the attack, including how the dog came to be in the area and whether anyone was responsible for it at the time.
Video shared on the Citizen app and described by several local news organizations showed officers responding as the woman received treatment in the street. Police confirmed that the dog was next to the injured victim when officers arrived. Some social media accounts contained additional claims about the attack, but police said they could not confirm all of those details.
The attack comes as San Francisco has faced increased concern over serious dog incidents and the city’s system for reviewing animals accused of dangerous behavior. Vicious-and-dangerous-dog hearings, sometimes called “dog court,” resumed after a lengthy interruption tied to a budget dispute. The hearings allow city officials to review complaints and decide whether restrictions should be imposed on dogs found to present a danger.
Local reporting based on city figures has shown an increase in dog-bite reports in recent years. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that more than 1,020 dog bites were reported to police in 2025, compared with nearly 870 the previous year. By the end of May 2026, more than 430 had already been reported. Separate Animal Care and Control figures cited by the San Francisco Standard counted 926 dog-attack reports in 2025, reflecting a different reporting measure.
Police said the Tenderloin attack remains under investigation. No additional update on the woman’s condition or the circumstances surrounding the dog’s death had been publicly announced by early Wednesday, and authorities had not announced any citation, arrest or criminal charge connected to the case.
Author note: Last updated September 9, 2026.