Deputy shoots agitated dog, arrests owner after heated argument at San Francisco hotel

A San Francisco sheriff’s deputy shot a dog Thursday morning at a hotel being used as a shelter in San Francisco during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, sheriff’s officials said.

Around 10 a.m., two deputies assigned to provide law enforcement services at the shelter at 1231 Market St. responded to a loud argument at the site’s back entrance.

There, a man with a dog was arguing with a security officer and when the dog’s owner saw the deputies, he began arguing with them, sheriff’s officials.

The dog became increasingly agitated and at one point got loose and charged at the deputies. One of the deputies then fired his service weapon at the dog to protect himself and others, according to sheriff’s officials.

The shooting caused the dog to retreat, with its owner chasing after.

Deputies followed and detained the owner. The owner, whose identity has not been released, has been booked into jail in connection with a felony warrant for his arrest, sheriff’s officials said.

Despite suffering several bullet wounds, the dog is alive and was taken for treatment by San Francisco Animal Care and Control.

The shooting is being investigated by the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Unit and the Sheriff’s Internal Affairs Unit, as well as the San Francisco Police Department.