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After Pepper’s Death, Oakland Family Seeks Answers About Reports of Other Dog Attacks
Pepper died after two Cane Corsos attacked her near Lakeside Park on Oct. 24. Her family says East Bay residents have since described other encounters involving dogs and an owner matching their description, but those accounts have not been verified by authorities.
Pepper, a dog whose family called her beloved, died Oct. 25 after two Cane Corsos attacked her near Lakeside Park in Oakland. Her owner, Tomiquia Moss, and Moss’s daughter, Torii Lola, are seeking accountability and urging anyone with information about other reported encounters to come forward.
Moss, California’s secretary of housing and homelessness, was walking Pepper near Fairyland when the dogs reportedly jumped a nearby fence and charged. Moss said both dogs attacked Pepper and shook her as she tried to intervene. The dogs’ owner could not control them, Moss said.
A park worker helped get Pepper to a veterinarian. She was later transferred to a specialty emergency hospital, where she received extensive treatment, including a blood transfusion. She died the following morning.
“It feels like she was stolen from us,” Moss said.
After Pepper’s death, Moss and Lola asked online for information. They said East Bay residents contacted them with accounts of other encounters involving two dogs and an owner matching the description they provided. Lola said some people reported that their own dogs had been attacked.
A flyer circulating among dog owners lists alleged incidents at several locations, including a dog injured at Eastshore Park on Oct. 20 and a possible fatal attack at Snow Park on Oct. 13. It also describes a previous mauling at Lakeside Park, an encounter at Joaquin Miller Park and incidents in Berkeley. The claims have not been confirmed by authorities or independently verified. Oakland officials have declined to comment because the case remains under investigation.
Social media posts also allege that the dogs were off leash and that their owner struggled to control them. Those claims, too, remain unverified.
The family says it hopes sharing Pepper’s story will prompt accountability and help prevent further attacks. “The only way I could feel better about this is getting justice for Pepper,” Lola said.