“Yeah, I see two dogs right now,” said Sean on the phone as he surveilled the park from afar. He was not happy about it.
Since February, Sean has been waging a private war against rule-breaking dog-owners in San Francisco’s Jackson Park. Armed with an AI coding tool subscription and a forensic knowledge of local regulations, he has made a website to report lawless pets at Jackson Park and 11 other city parks in an attempt to pressure officials into action.
But every time he puts up flyers, people tear them down.
His efforts have so angered his neighbours that he refuses to disclose his real name, giving only a pseudonym.
“It is a contentious issue,” he admitted. “I’ve gotten a lot of hate comments, calling me a loser and telling me to get a life. It doesn’t bother me at all: they’re the exact audience I want to see this.”
René Garcia with his dog Rosie: ‘This has always been where we took the dogs’ – Kim White
In a city with more canines than children, dogs’ rights have become a flashpoint.
Furious posts on Reddit and NextDoor depict a city overrun by “entitled” ill-trained dogs and their “entitled” owners, romping through bars, supermarkets and green spaces under the guise of service animal status.
In Jackson Park, which is officially classed as an athletics field and off limits to dogs, city rangers have hounded dog owners off the property with megaphones, whistles, and fines – to the confusion and chagrin of locals who have long used it to walk their pets.
Paul Sears, a 49-year-old local dog trainer whose 2024 petition to change the park rules to be more animal-friendly attracted 1,500 signatures, claims he has witnessed many cases of “aggressive” and “confrontational” behaviour by park rangers that seemed intended to “intimidate” dog owners.
Dog trainer Paul Sears claims he has witnessed ‘aggressive’ and ‘confrontational’ behaviour by park rangers – Paul Sears/Resilient Rover
“On one occasion, a park employee drove a maintenance vehicle full speed directly toward me and my dog before turning away at the last moment, passing within a few feet of us,” he said.
“That event was disturbing, as were several fraudulent online reviews I received about my business and numerous derogatory comments about me individually on social platforms.”
A nationwide surge in dog ownership, boosted but not started by the boom in “pandemic pups”, only serves to exacerbate the problem.
The US pet care industry has more than doubled in value since 2019 to $158bn (£118bn). And the number of pet care employees in city census data also doubled between 2013 and 2023.
Meanwhile, our relationship with dogs is becoming more devoted. “For many, particularly younger generations, pets are increasingly seen as children [in which they] invest heavily,” said a spokesman for Rover, the dog care marketplace, which has surveyed the cultural “humanisation” of pets.
“While San Francisco is an extreme example, this trend is national,” the spokesman said.
The rights of dogs has become a flashpoint in San Francisco – Kim White
San Francisco’s concentration of cash-rich and time-poor tech workers has created a thriving industry of high-end trainers, pet sitters and doggy daycares, which can charge as much as $1,700 (£1,270) a month for their services.
The dark side, in a city struggling with drug addiction, mental illness and spiralling housing costs, is more dogs than ever falling into the city’s shelters.
“While San Francisco has a strong dog‑friendly reputation, the city’s infrastructure – housing, vet care access and the shelter system – has not kept pace with the rising need,” said Amy Corso, executive director of San Francisco Animal Care and Control.
The number of dog bites rose from 868 in 2024 to 926 in 2025, according to animal control figures; those reported to the police rose from 335 to 462 in the same period. The city’s quasi-judicial “dog court” – formally the Vicious and Dangerous Dog hearings – which can force owners to muzzle, train, confine or euthanise dangerous dogs, is finally restarting this month after a year-long funding hiatus.
According to Patrick J Murphy, a University of San Francisco public affairs professor, San Franciscans have a particular appetite for turning pet issues into pitched political battles, with social media emboldening them to take ever more extreme positions.
“If we take a step back, [this issue] should be eminently solvable. But nope, we just get out the flamethrower,” Prof Murphy said.
Which brings us back to Sean, a Potrero Hill resident in his late twenties who works in the legal field. Incensed at the wanton disregard for rules, he had Claude Code whip up SFdogtracker.com, then bought a laminator and began putting up signs with QR codes.
“I followed all the San Francisco sign code rules, because it would be hypocritical if I didn’t,” Sean said. “The majority of signs put up in San Francisco are not in compliance, but I don’t really care about that.”
A sign in the Jackson Playground Park reads ‘No dogs on sports fields’ – Kim White
His argument is simple: “I love dogs. I have a dog. I think they should stay in areas that they’re designated to be… these rules exist for a reason, which is to respect the community.
“If [people] have a problem with the rules in place, I implore them to go through the proper channels and make a change if they can. Otherwise, they should follow the f—ing rules.”
According to Sean, many ranger visits to Jackson Park start with a phone call from him. But he wants the city to be more proactive.
Randomised patrols every one or two weeks, he says, handing out fines without warning, would quickly teach “s—y entitled dog owners” to stay clear.
The city’s parks department did not respond to requests for comment. Still, officials have long insisted that dog-free athletics fields reduce maintenance costs and preserve their facilities for sporting use. Dog owners can go to one of the city’s 36 dog parks.
But many locals question why an often-empty baseball diamond – and the fee-paying school that uses it – should get such apparent exclusive priority.
“This has always been where we took the dogs… it’s disappointing that the rules don’t reflect the community’s needs and real use of the space,” said René Garcia, a 21-year-old public policy student who has lived nearby with his family for around a decade.
“In San Francisco, unless you’re a millionaire, who can afford a yard?” said Ana Cervantes, 30, out walking Koda, her German shepherd mix. “The dedicated dog parks are so small. So where are they meant to go?”
‘Unless you’re a millionaire, who can afford a yard?’: Anna Cervantes with her dog Koda – Kim White
Behind such arguments is a tension that goes beyond San Francisco, or even the US. Many recent dog owners are young people or couples frozen out of home ownership, squeezed by ever-increasing rents in job-rich big cities.
Many, too, feel forced to delay having children – something reflected in the increasingly parental way people talk about “fur babies” and “dog moms”. For them, being chased out of their local park feels like one more unfair barrier to the life they want.
“I can think of dozens of couples in that neighbourhood who had a dog, then got married, then had their first kid. Many families started that way,” said Stanford Caldera, 37, an urban planner and landscape architect who until recently lived nearby and walked his dog in Jackson Park.
Indeed, Ms Cervantes, who calls Koda “my son”, says she does want human children too, but can’t afford it alongside her roughly $4,000 (£3,000) monthly rent.
Sean is undeterred. When Jackson Park is renovated in two years to add a dedicated, albeit small, “dog relief area”, he says he’ll be “calling the park rangers every day” on those who defy its boundaries. He is even thinking of buying a billboard.