A man was attacked by two Alsatians on Narrabeen Beach, on Sunday July 24th at 10.15am.
This is the second reported attack for which authorities and those attacked are seeking information from the public.
Council Rangers are investigating reports of a dog attack on a young child at Mona Vale Beach (south end) on Sunday 17 July 2022 at around 10am. If you have any information on the matter, please call Council's Rangers on 1300 434 434.
The man attacked the following Sunday was on the beach just north of where Wellington Street entry is.
He had to attend hospital for the whole day of the attack and return the following day for surgery.
The dog owner fled the scene of the incident, still on the beach, heading north, without giving any contact details to the man attacked.
the dogs that attacked man on Narrabeen beach: this photo was taken by a bystander - the man had put one of the dogs back on a lead
Roger Shahani sustained a ragged wound to his arm, which required surgery. The top of his thumb is still numb.
He is a musician, a bass player with a popular local band.
Roger is self-employed during the week, work that was impacted by the attack as it took 3 days to recover from the general anaesthetic required for surgery. He is still on antibiotics.
He has since had nightmares about being attacked by dogs.
Pittwater Online News recently ran a report on a lady who sustained permanent injuries to her hand through a dog attack, among other injuries, and has been awarded funds through court action to meet the needs of what she will require – for the rest of her life – simple things like being able to do the housework. She too now has constant nightmares about being attacked by dogs. Her mental health has been severely impacted.
‘I can’t carry anything with my right arm,’ Roger told Pittwater Online News this week.
The Starwoods, the band Roger plays with, had a private function booked for the last weekend of July, another commitment Roger was aiming to meet.
He stated it had come to the point where people were no longer safe going onto Narrabeen Beach as there were dogs offleash there all the time.
‘’People can’t run, swim or exercise safely.’’ he said
‘’The next day there were more there. Today there were 5 on the beach offleash and when I approached the girl who had them there she became very aggressive.
She then took off towards the school – can you imagine that? 5 dogs in front of the primary school in charge of this person.’’
Roger said he called the council and a Ranger was sent, however, the woman with the 5 dogs offleash had already left.
Roger said that maybe people aren’t aware dogs are not to go on the beaches. However, there is clear signage and it is well-known that dogs are not meant to go into these public spaces, on to beaches, for this very reason.
The Dog Nuisance Bill of 1863, and every update to legalisation up to the current Dog Companion Act of 1998, were written to protect people and other animals, including wildlife, from dog attacks and irresponsible owners.
What is contained within the current and previous Act is not a guideline, it is law.
These laws were enacted specifically to deal with the problem of attacking dogs and owners who disregard the safety of others and the peace and safety inherent in the establishment of public spaces.
Roger is not the only one who is wary of going to the beach now.
Locals state it is no longer safe to go to any beaches, parks or even just walk along the street due to the amount of dogs offleash everywhere, all the time, with attacks occurring so frequently the council would need an army of Rangers to address the problem.
Residents, including dog owners, are warning each other to be vigilant when out and about of attacks. Dogs roaming, often without an owner in sight, has become a multiple everyday occurrence. There is nowhere you can go at present and not see dogs offleash.
Marine Rescue NSW specialists have put their skills to the test in a major maritime capability operation, including 10 rescue vessels took to the waters of Pittwater around Broken Bay over the weekend of July 23-24 to search for “victims” missing at sea as part of a major marine capability exercise.
The exercise was designed to hone vital marine search and rescue skills and cooperation between agencies to ensure during emergencies everyone is able to respond as quickly and safely as possible.
The search exercise was based on a scenario involving a search for multiple victims after a recreational fishing boat was reported missing off the coast at Broken Bay, with volunteers from all eight Marine Rescue units also undertaking incident management exercises onshore as well as presentations by the attending emergency services.
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience Steph Cooke said the two-day Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX) tests the training and coordination of multiple emergency services organisations.
“More than 115 search and rescue specialists, including 70 Marine Rescue NSW volunteers from eight units across Greater Sydney and the Central Coast, took part in this important operation,” Ms Cooke said.
“Training opportunities like this are vital to help our crews stay sharp and ready to save lives when more people take to the water in the warmer months.”
Member for Pittwater Rob Stokes said despite the wet weather, Marine Rescue NSW volunteers have responded to 3,896 calls for urgent help this year.
“Tragically over the past year 14 boaters and paddlers have lost their lives, and I urge everyone heading out on the water to do their bit by always wearing a lifejacket and Logging On with their local Marine Rescue base,” Mr Stokes said.
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