Residents of Oakland already contending with the city's myriad problems are facing a new scourge – a series of recent vicious cane corso attacks on people and pets. 

Oaklanders have been drawing attention on social media to a spate of at least eight dog attacks since late last year in several of the city's parks, which are all thought to have been committed by two cane corsos belonging to an irresponsible owner.

The serial maulings were brought to light last week after California's secretary of housing and homelessness, Tomiquia Moss, had her little 12-year-old dog, Pepper, killed in one of the attacks.

Moss told ABC7 that she was taking Pepper on their daily walk through the park on Friday, when she saw 'these two gigantic dogs jump two fences and start making a beeline toward me and my dog.' 

She said there was no time to react, then recounted what happened next with a trembling voice.

'They both attacked her,' Moss said. 'And they both had her body, shaking her, and I couldn't do anything.' 

Moss said that the cane corsos' owner was unable to control them. She, a park worker and the owner wrestled the enormous dogs for three minutes before Pepper was finally released, Moss told SFGate. 

Moss rushed her beloved pet to the veterinarian. The dog had collapsed ribs and was struggling to breathe. It succumbed to its injuries the next morning and died. 

'I actually can’t describe a more horrific experience,' Moss told SFGate. 'The way in which Pepper was taken from us has left us so shocked and angry and devastated.' 

Moss told ABC7 that the owner of the cane corsos simply took them and walked away after the attack. He has not been publicly identified and appears to have faced no consequences thus far. 

Users on several social media platforms have alleged that eight or more dog attacks in Oakland since November 2025 involved an owner and two cane corsos that match Moss's description. 

A digital flyer has been circulating online with pictures of the owner that describes encounters in which a woman and her dog were attacked, and five other dogs were attacked or injured, one of which was possibly killed in addition to Pepper.

Authorities have not confirmed whether the man in the posts is indeed responsible for the attacks. 

But Moss's daughter, Torii Lola, who was on the phone with her mom when their dog was being mauled, reposted the digital flyer to her Facebook page and appeared convinced it was the correct person.

In a separate post, she thanked people for reaching out with support and information about the owner and said: 'It seems that this has been a recurring issue for multiple residents of Oakland. Seems this trainer has been caught at other locations.' 

'We have two attacks on two other animals at different parks, and it seems about six other attacks at the same location,' Lola added. 

She also said that she was sorry for all of the other victims whose pets were attacked but did not have any support and felt there was no one they could turn to because the Oakland Police Department does not take on animal control cases. 

'Whether your dog was injured or ultimately lost their life, [it] seems that many people didn't get the justice that was deserved,' Lola said. 

For pet owners in Oakland, the threat posed by the irresponsible owner and his out-of-control dogs has become yet another point of concern in the city, where high crime rates, homelessness and public services buckling under severe budget deficits have been a fact of life for years.