Dog Attack Victim Is Honored

Members of the St. Mary’s College lacrosse team gathered early Saturday morning to remember their coach, who died a day earlier after a vicious dog attack in the hallway of her apartment building.

Diane Whipple, 33, was just putting her keys in her front door about 4 p.m. when two large dogs, a crossbreed between English mastiffs and Canary Island fighting dogs, bounded toward her. One latched onto Whipple’s neck and the other tore at her clothes.

The dogs belong to a neighbor.

The five-minute attack left Whipple and the dogs’ handler drenched in blood. Neighbors who heard the screaming said they thought a mugging or a rape was taking place.

Whipple died Friday night at San Francisco General Hospital. Bane, the 120-pound male dog that bit Whipple’s neck, was killed by animal control officers late Friday. The other dog, a 113-pound female named Hera, was taken to the animal control kennel.

On Saturday, well-wishers left a half-dozen bouquets of flowers at the doorstep to Whipple’s Pacific Heights district apartment building. Some quietly walked past the scene of the attack while others urged that the dogs’ owners, Marjori Knoller and attorney Robert Noel, be held accountable for Whipple’s death.

“You never know what a dog is going to do,” said Jim Avery, out for a walk in the neighborhood with his golden retriever Blackie. “I think the owners are liable for involuntary manslaughter. If I were (Whipple’s) family I would sue the guy until the cows come home.”

Two blocks away, at a park where dogs run off-leash, Sarah Shaw said the attack was an unfortunate accident.

“The dogs should be put down. The dogs killed her, not the owner,” Shaw said as she played with her small terrier Thomas. Since Noel acquired the dogs only recently, the previous owner should be held responsible, Shaw said.

Knoller and Noel did not return calls seeking comment. Police are investigating.