SFPD Declares Two Dogs In Huntington Park Attack 'Not Vicious and Dangerous'

• I am very familiar with this situation and know the dogs involved. I am a dog lover but am not involved and consider myself an observer who has nothing to lose or gain in this. It is amazing to me that people think that Cope does not have a right to walk on-leash with her un-fixed dog – which is legal, but that everyone else has the right to have their dogs off-lease which happens to be illegal in that park. Those are facts. Every dog owner that regularly takes their dog up to Hunnington park knows of Cope's dog so this situation should not have been a big surprise to any of them. If you saw Cope enter the park with her dog, might a responsible person think, this might be the time that I want to get my dog back on-leash? Just like a smart person would if they saw a cop or parks person walk into the park. You can imagine many situations where a dog owner must intercede and make sure that their dog is not causing harm or disruption in an urban environment. You might compare this to jay walking, most everyone does it and we all know that it is illegal but we still do it; yet if we know of a potentially dangerous situation we would probably take the extra effort to walk the extra half block to avoid an accident. The biggest difference between my analogy and the dog situation is that with the jay walking there might potential harm to yourself. In the off-leash situation there is an arrogance involved. The dog walkers blatantly ignore the law and have been fighting the park to over turn it. There is now a law suit pending with the two dogs involved.

• Mr. Jamison; I think whoever is writing those comments is more articulate, accurate and intelligent then you are. Don't worry about honest public discourse, I think we all know the truth. And if not, your need to malign the commentator rather then address the content (despite your assertion that you already have) speaks volumes. You are nothing more than a pap in journalists clothing. Lame, Mr. Jamison, just lame!

• To Our Readers, Thank you for your comments. Again, in the interests of fostering an honest public discourse in this forum, we wanted to note that the above commenter, "Mason," has commented on this post and other things we've written on the Huntington Park dog issue under a variety of identities -- including "Rallin" and "Nelson" -- from the same IP address. This means his or her remarks have all come from a single computer, under various e-mail addresses and names. To Nelson/Rallin/Mason: Given your avowed interest in credibility and accountability, we're sure you don't mind this being pointed out. We have now addressed the substance of your factual criticisms on multiple occasions, and won't do so again here. Regards, Peter Jamison

• Mr. Jamison, Your artificial concern regarding how your readers view �a majority of dog owners� after spending months doing nothing but maligning and misrepresenting them is, as they say, rich. And your decision to argue against a statement no one made is just as ludicrous. The �notion that a person is responsible for sustaining a serious injury just by virtue of walking a leashed dog that has not been neutered in public� is your misguided notion alone. The relevant facts are: 1. Marion Cope�s dog is not neutered. You wrote six articles on the subject of this woman and her dog while withholding this pertinent fact. Why? 2 Her dog has the reputation among other dog owners and park goers for being aggressive. You left that out of six articles, also. 3. She is unable to physically control her dog. 4. Most importantly, Cope decided to place herself in the altercation between the dogs, a terrible mistake which resulted in her injury. As to the cause of Cope's wound, your characterizations have grown increasingly vague, as you hide behind language like �sustained as the result of a dog attack�? Was her wound a dog bite or not? It�s a simple question, and after six articles you should answer it. Officer John Denny did assert definitively that Marion Cope's wound was sustained by falling into a bush. He did so in this article in the SF Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Canine-chaos-unleashed-in-park-79100977.html He couldn�t have been more clear: �She tripped over the tile, fell into the bushes and she got that 10-inch gash" What is your explanation for the conflict between Officer Denny�s statement to the Examiner and the statements you attribute to him? The Examiner quoted him. You did not. Instead , when confronted with this incongruity, you desperately cling to some �official understanding� of which you have offered no documentation. Mr. Jamison, you have vociferously advocated on behalf of Marion Cope and the Nob Hill Association in article after article after article. Only the most fervent dog haters (which admittedly, you have succeeded in drawing out of the woodwork) have viewed your confused stories as anything but biased attacks on the good people of Nob Hill and San Francisco. Your writing would be amusing for it�s ineptitude, if it weren't so obviously intended to do people harm. To end your epic saga with a cute poodle picture and a mealy mouthed retreat, summarizing �The exact circumstances ...remain a mystery�, reveals you as a pathetic windbag in the service of a gang of antisocial rich control freaks bent on forcing the public out of Huntington Park. You have destroyed what little credibility as a journalist you had when you began this series of articles, and you have done a disservice to the people of San Francisco for which you will be remembered for years to come.

• Dear Rallin, Thank you for commenting on our blog post. In the interests of an honest public discourse in this forum, I feel obligated to correct a few misleading assertions you have made. As I've pointed out in response to similar comments before (http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-01-20/news/unleashed/#Comments, see comments 42 and 46), neither Ofc. John Denny nor any other member of the SFPD asserts definitively that Marion Cope's wound was sustained by falling into a bush. The official version of events offered by police (including Denny) interviewed for our January cover story on leash laws, based on the assessment of Cope's doctor, is that her wound was sustained as the result of a dog attack. In addition, the "doctor at the scene" to whom you refer, Alex Julian, told us that he is a former anesthesiologist, and not a practicing physician. On a more personal note: As someone with more than "a shred of familiarity with domesticated animals," I'd like to say that the notion that a person is responsible for sustaining a serious injury just by virtue of walking a leashed dog that has not been neutered in public is one which any responsible dog owner -- and most responsible citizens -- would find abhorrent. While you're welcome to proffer your opinions on this Web site, I hope readers don't walk away with the impression that these sentiments are representative of the views of a majority of dog owners or the staff at SF Weekly. Regards, Peter Jamison

• Rinalia says: "her wounds are the results of people running their dogs off leash " More likely her wounds were the result of her bringing an unneutered and aggressive dog that she was unable to control to a park where other male dogs were present. Anyone with a shred of familiarity with domesticated animals will tell you that unneutered males are far more aggressive than neutered males, and this was certainly a contributing factor in the altercation that Mrs. Cope admits she placed herself in the middle of. http://www.bcrescue.org/unneutered.html As far as the events that "ended with her wounded on the ground." - Are you saying that you agree with the Doctor at the scene and the Police Officer from the Dog Unit that Marion Cope�s injury was sustained when she fell into the bushes? SFPD officer John Denny of the Vicious and Dangerous Dog Unit, interviewed in the San Francisco Examiner : "She thought her dog was in serious trouble. She tried to save it. She tripped over the tile, fell into the bushes and she got that 10-inch gash" he said http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Canine-chaos-unleashed-in-park-79100977.html

• Rinalia, You never speed? Forget to wear a seatbelt? Jay Walk? Smoke pot? Download music (or a movie) illegally? Give a child a sip of wine on a special occasion? It's easy to take the "legal" high ground when it suits your argument, and these laws do exist to protect the common good - however there is such a thing as selective enforcement or obeying the spirit of the law. I'm not saying that owners who have their dogs off leash should be given carte blanche to do whatever they want in the city, but that's NOT what is going on here. There is only this small green space in this part of the city. The residents of Nob Hill with pets already face a number of challenges like fewer apartments that will accept them. All they wish to do is live and let live - and give their dogs a decent quality of life. There IS no perfect solution and in these matters. Agand again I have advocated for tolerance. What happened to Ms. Cope was very regratable. Let's just not use it as defining reason to make a significant minority even more put out then they already are.

• This is the comment "Rinalia" is responding to in the above post. It was deleted without explanation by Peter Jamison. Dr. Alex Julian rendered first aid to Marion Cope on the night her leg was injured in Huntington Park and does not believe her injury was a dog bite. "I have to say � and this is very important � as bad as the wound was, I didn't think it was a dog bite. There were no puncture marks. There were no teeth marks. It was a flap of skin," he recalled. http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-01-20/news/unleashed/ Dr. Julian�s first person account of Mrs. Cope�s injury not being sustained from a dog is backed up by this one from SFPD officer John Denny of the Vicious and Dangerous Dog Unit, in the San Francisco Examiner, : "She thought her dog was in serious trouble. She tried to save it. She tripped over the tile, fell into the bushes and she got that 10-inch gash" he said. http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Canine-chaos-unleashed-in-park-79100977.html

• First of all, this is the first accurate and balanced article I've seen from Jamison although pretty short compared to his wildly imaginative previous articles on this issue. So kudos to Jamison - keep it up - you might become a journalist yet. But to Rinalia, Cope and the NHA I say you need to get off your high horses and quit painting every dog owner with the same brush. Cope's dog is unneutered and has behaved agressively towards other dogs regardless of leash status numerous times. I see her taking no responsibility her unsocialized animal and it's contribution of instigating the other dogs reaction. Furthermore, I could argue that this incident might not have happened if this rabid anti-dog group had been willing to work with dog owners and lovers in the community to come up with a reasonable compromise. Rinalia, Cope, Lefkowitz, Ginsberg and Chui need to accept that dog owners and lovers are NOT GOING AWAY and we are a large group. If they want peace and safety in the community they need to be more open and compromising including at Huntinton Park. There is a plaque in the park which clearly states that the park is a gift to [ALL] the people of San Francisco. Not just the rich and snobby!

• When you choose not to fix your dog, you take your chances. Since Mrs. Cope did not have Clancy fixed, she knew that aggressive dogs would be drawn to him. Then, according to the Police report, she intervened in the dog fight. Mrs. Cope has not been up front with the community about her own culpability in this incident. Dogs who live in dense urban areas such as SF should be fixed, period! There is no excuse for this to happen, and then to try and blame everyone else and ban dogs from the park is disgraceful.

• Marion Cope and other Nob Hill Association leaders, including realtor and accountant David Lefkowitz http://www.lefko.com/ http://fogciti.com/68.html and realtor Stephen Patton http://www.gomezandpatton.com/ContactUs.aspx have been rabidly advocating for closure of Huntington Park with gates and fences, and the banning of all dogs from the park. Have Peter Jamison�s six biased articles for the SFWeekly simply been part of their public relations blitz to close the park? It seems so.

• Also worth noting is the overlooked fact that that Marion Cope's Irish terrier, Clancy, a former champion showdog, has not been neutered.

• Mason, her wounds are the results of people running their dogs off leash illegally. Had those dogs not been off-leash, this entire debacle could have been prevented. I agree with the judgment, by the way. I love running dogs off leash. It's great fun and wonderful for the dogs. But people, do it where it is legal and do it safely. Push for more legal places and stop being such jerks when people ask you to put your mutt on leash in an on-leash area. You aren't winning anyone over to your cause with your criminally bad 'tudes. Were those dogs dangerous? Perhaps not. But they were not under any voice control, and they did engage in pushy, aggressive behavior that frightened the woman's dog and ended with her wounded on the ground. If people want the privilege of walking their dogs off leash, they better get off their high horse, stop acting so arrogant and cavalier, and start taking the privilege seriously.

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