Horror as dog snatched by shark in shallow waters on Sydney beach

A pet dog was taken by a shark as it frolicked in shallow water on a popular off-leash beach in Sydney on Sunday.

The American Staffordshire Terrier, a rescue dog named Molly, was fetching a stick from the water when the shark grabbed her.

It was believed to be a bull shark, measuring around 3.5m long – local authorities have since installed signs warning people to avoid swimming in the area, and for pet owners to keep their dogs out of the water.

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“We were pretty traumatised, it was horrific,” said one of Molly’s owners, Nigel, from Sydney’s south, who said that Molly was around 5m off-shore when the attack took place.

“We were just throwing the stick in the water. The tide was really far out and there was a bit of a drop off [where the water became deeper],” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“It was very quick. It just took her under the water.”

Neither he nor his wife saw Molly again after that; it was not possible to retrieve her body.

The attack follows a spate of shark sightings in the area; on February 9th a chilling video showed a kite surfer surfing towards a shark at nearby Brighton Le Sands, whilesharks were spotted 6 miles away at Alexandra Canal, and another was seen in shallow water at Botany Bay.