Margaret W. Baumgartner and Rebecca L. Katz are deputy city
attorneys with the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.
Dogs and humans have lived in close proximity for millennia.
Although historically humans have thought of dogs as “man’s best
friend,” sometimes a dog will unexpectedly kill or severely
injure its owner or another person. Most dog owners, however, do
not realize their pet is capable of killing someone before it
happens.1
