A hunting dog that dived into the waters of the Atlantic to retrieve a duck shot by its master became the reluctant prey of a shark lurking nearby in Port Medway, Nova Scotia, on Wednesday.
The experienced hunter, who breeds and trains Chesapeake Bay retrievers for hunting, described his misfortune in a statement to local media.
“When the sea is calm and the ducks fall near the boat, it is customary to send a dog into the sea to rescue them,” described the hunter, who remained anonymous.
So Pepper was in the sea, swimming near Toby Island, when she was attacked by a shark, which tossed her into the air before pulling her under the waves.
“It happened so quickly and so suddenly that even though I was looking directly when it happened, I couldn’t say for sure what kind of shark it was,” said the hunter, who believes the fish was about 2, was 4 meters long.
Despite the severity of the attack, Pepper managed to escape and swim to her master’s boat. However, she succumbed to her injuries shortly afterwards.
The event occurred about 20 meters from land, making the shark attack even more unusual.
A local shark expert, Art Gaetan, told SaltWire that Pepper was likely attacked by a juvenile great white shark, the only species found in the area at this time of year.
According to Mr Gaetan, attacks of this type are relatively common among deer that venture into the water, but he cannot recall ever hearing a similar story from a dog.