Second Dog Not a Killer, Owners Say

SAN FRANCISCO —  An attorney testified at City Hall that his Canary Island dog was not involved in the fatal mauling of a woman last month, despite frightening accounts from the public about run-ins with the animal.

Robert Noel and his wife, Marjorie Knoller, testified at a public hearing that their dog Hera played no role in the death of Diane Whipple, a St. Mary’s College lacrosse coach, who died at her doorstep after a bloody attack Jan. 26.

Bane, the dog said to have inflicted the fatal wounds, was put down that night.

But the couple have refused to surrender custody of their other dog, Hera, who remains at a city animal welfare facility.

Officials from the city’s animal control commission and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommended that Hera be destroyed.

The police sergeant who heard the testimony will make the final decision on Hera’s fate within two weeks.

The couple said neither dog had exhibited aggression since arriving in San Francisco from rural Hayfork, Calif., where the animals were raised.

“Hera and Bane were not the least bit aggressive,” Noel said at a “vicious dog” hearing Tuesday.

He disputed the claims of people who came forward to relate harrowing experiences with his dogs, but offered no explanation for the fatal attack.

“The behavior was totally out of character for either one of them,” Noel told Sgt. William Herndon.

One man testified that Hera bit him on the buttocks when he got off an elevator in their apartment building.

David Moser said the couple seemed dismissive of the incident.

“I recall being kind of shocked at their reaction,” Moser said. “They didn’t seem to discipline the dog.”

Noel said Moser had bumped into his wife and “assaulted” her without apologizing. Noel also said the man bumped his leg on the elevator door, causing a mark.

Police officers and animal control workers called to the scene the night of Whipple’s mauling recalled finding her lying on the floor, covered in blood, with her clothes shredded around her.

Animal control officer Andrea Runge said she was not prepared for what she saw.

“It was shredded bits of cloth, clumps of hair and blood,” she testified.