Shark tries to attack dog at Urangan dog beach, Hervey Bay

A shark has reportedly fought its way into the shallows of a Queensland beachside community and gotten within centimetres of a beloved pet, forcing her shocked owner to take drastic action.

Sam Warne's dog, Nellie, stands in the shallows at Hervey Bay where she was was nearly taken by a hungry bull shark.

A Fraser Coast man was left stunned when his dog was “lined up” by a bull shark at the Urangan dog beach about a week after freak rain and flash flooding pummelled the region.

Former surfer Sam Warne and his beloved heeler, Nellie, were out on their usual morning walk when Sam spotted something in the shallows at Urangan that he thought looked like a shark.

“I’ve been walking my dog along there for eight years,” Mr Warne said this week.

“I saw (a shark) down there last year but it was chasing mullet, not dogs.

“This thing lined my dog up from 20m away and swam into water that was hardly deep enough to support it.”

Multiple sightings of sharks have been reported after a bull shark was hooked and released at the Maroochydore river mouth in February. Photo: Dorsal Watch.

Mr Warne had to splash around in front of his dog to get the 6ft (1.8m) shark to turn around.

“It was 10-20m out and it took about a second to line her up and go for her,” he said.

“I saw what was happening and thought that’s the end of her, but luckily, it turned around at the last minute.”

Mr Warne said he was relieved Nellie survived her encounter, but was worried for the smaller breeds that use the beach.

“There’s chihuahua’s running around in that water and other small dogs chasing balls,” he said.

Robert Mostyn captured this 1.5m bull shark off the Kingfisher jetty on K'gari on January 14.

“A little dog would have been swallowed whole, no problems at all.

“Families go down there with little kids and they all play around in the water.”

Mr Warne has fishermen currently staying with him that say they cannot release fish into the water because the sharks will follow boats.

A keen surfer, Mr Warne learned the sport in South Australia before moving to Western Australia where a great white shark swam underneath his board at the York Peninsula.

He had another experience with sharks surfing in Denmark, Western Australia, where he watched great whites feast on a whale carcass.

He believes Hervey Bay’s recent extreme weather may have a role to play in the bull shark being so close to shore.

“All that rain we’ve had has flushed everything out of the creeks,” he said.

“They may have washed out of the creeks and they’re all active at the moment.”

After eight years of using the beach for Nellie’s physical activity, Mr Warne said he now had reservations about heading back.

“I won’t be throwing the ball out in front of her,” he said.

“Maybe they’ll disappear when everything settles down. I’ve still got my dog so I’m pretty happy.”

Originally published as Shark tries to attack dog at Urangan dog beach, Hervey Bay