Bronte Beach dog attack: owner of mini-schnauzer attacked by NRL star Jai Arrow’s staffy calls for more CCTV

A woman whose dog was attacked by NRL player Jai Arrow’s staffy has called for more surveillance of the area.

The owner of a dog viciously attacked by an NRL star’s staffy has called for more CCTV cameras in the area, a push backed by the local surf lifesaving captain.

It comes as the Waverley mayor slammed “high profile people” and others who don’t follow the rules, saying there should be more personal responsibility shown as opposed to boosted surveillance.

South Sydney Rabbitohs player Jai Arrow recently apologised after his American staffordshire terrier Thor attacked Kate Muir’s miniature schnauzer Millie at Bronte Beach on Monday, April 11.

Millie the mini-Schnauzer shortly after she was attacked

Millie was left with life-threatening injuries when Thor, who was off-lead at the beach promenade where owners are required to keep their dogs on their leashes, ran towards her and mauled her while she was on her lead.

Police are investigating the incident but as of Tuesday morning had not laid any charges.

According to Ms Muir, who had racked up a $10,000 vet bill and was also hurt in the attack, there should be more surveillance in an area she said was common for dogs to be roaming off their leashes when there shouldn’t be.

Jai Arrow with his dogs, Koda (rottweiler) and Thor (American staffordshire terrier), on a charity walk in 2019. Picture: Jerad Williams

She and several eyewitnesses told the Wentworth Courier the man with the attacking staffy left the scene at 7:15pm and they didn’t have his details.

A mammoth social media effort to track down that man soon followed, with dozens of people on different community pages exchanging information about his appearance.

It is understood the incident was not caught on CCTV and the huge community response helped council and police gather more information.

On Sunday, it was reported Arrow had come forward and apologised on behalf of his for his flatmate, Rabbitohs forward Liam Knight, who was walking Thor at the time of the attack.

Millie with her owner Kate Muir, who was walking with her father at the time of the incident

Ms Muir said she desperately did not want to see any other owners or pets experience what she and Millie had endured.

“There needs to be awareness that there are more of certain dogs involved in attacks than other types … and there should be more cameras because people were saying all over social media that they’ve seen this happen there before,” she said.

These thoughts were echoed by captain of the Bronte Surf Life Saving Club James McLennan.

“There could have been a fatality here,” Mr McLennan said.

Millie’s injuries caused $10,000 to treat

“We need better CCTV coverage in Bronte, because if this was Randwick we would be able to tell a lot more much earlier because we know they have a lot more cameras.”

But Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos said there were already enough CCTV cameras at Bronte Beach, and “a lot of people don’t want more”.

She said cameras often couldn’t get the right angle to identify people and the way to prevent these attacks was for people to follow the rules of on-leash and off-leash areas.

“Anyone who is high profile has a duty to do the right thing. Not just rugby players, so does everyone,” she said.

“He’s [Arrow] come forward, he’s apologised. It’s disappointing that the irresponsible actions of a few are ruining it for the majority of people are following the rules.”

While dog attacks and rules around dog leashes are the responsibility of councils, NSW Police has taken over the investigation into the Bronte attack due to the injuries suffered by the dog and owner.

Ms Muir said she hurt her hands and face when she tried to pick Millie up as she saw Thor pounce. Millie returned home on Thursday night - on her fifth birthday - after spending four days at the vets.

Arrow “deeply apologised” to the family, offered to pay the vet fees and said his dog had never previously attacked another dog.