Dog perhaps inadvisably attempted to befriend shark swimming in shallow water

A dog apparently thought a shark was up for some play when they encountered each other in the shallows off Geraldton in Western Australia. Donna Kowald shot the video of her Ridgeback Bullmastiff cross Koda playfully jumping in and out the water, while the shark seems oblivious.



Mrs Kowald was a bit worried the one-year-old pup might end up as shark dinner and called Koda back to shore several times. “We couldn’t believe how close it was to the shore,” she said. “The shark was actually closer before I managed to start shooting the video with my phone.”

Mrs Kowald and husband Jason were at the beach near Point Moore on Friday afternoon to give Koda a run when Mr Kowald spotted the shark. The couple estimate the shark swam around for about a minute before moving into deeper water.


YouTube link.

Only three days earlier, Mrs Kowald had been swimming in the same location. “I know there are sharks in the ocean, but I didn’t realise they came in so close,” she said. Ridgebacks and Bullmastiffs are known for their spirit, but Mrs Kowald did not think Koda would have turned the tables on the shark. “He hasn’t got a mean bone in his body,” she said.