Whitfords dog beach: Drone captures dog’s terrifying face-to-face encounter with shark in Perth beach shallows

A drone has captured the heart-stopping moment a dog came face to face with a shark in ankle-deep water at a popular Perth beach, prompting renewed calls for warning signs along the coastline.

The close encounter unfolded in seconds at Whitfords dog beach, where a tiger shark cruised into the shallows before coming nose to nose with Olive, a groodle enjoying a run along the water’s edge.

Footage shows the shark and dog briefly locking eyes before both turning and retreating — Olive sprinting back to shore as the shark veers away.

The incident was filmed by drone operator Lexo Aveleyia, who said he launched his drone to see what had caused a commotion in the water.

“I put the drone up to understand what just happened and yeah, it was just impressive because it’s not something you see every day,” he said.

Olive’s owner, Sascha, watched the frightening moment unfold from the beach.

“The thing that shocked me was how far it came out of the water,” she said.

Shaken by the close call, Sascha is now calling for warning signs to be installed along the beach, saying there are currently none to alert beachgoers to potential shark activity.

“I’m so concerned that if something isn’t done really quickly then I will attempt to put signs up myself,” she said.

“It’s a one in a million shot with Olive but what if it’s someone else’s kid?”

The local council has acknowledged her concerns but said signage was not required.

In a statement, the council said it “considers signage to be unnecessary as people are generally aware that coastal waters are natural habitat for marine wildlife, including sharks”.

The incident follows recent drone sightings in the area, with at least three sharks spotted off the coast last week.

While Whitfords remains sign-free, other parts of Perth’s coastline are taking a different approach.

At Bather’s Beach in Fremantle, a shark barrier was installed on Monday to provide swimmers with added peace of mind. The barrier will remain in place until April.

Fremantle Mayor Ben Lawver said the aim was to make the ocean more accessible for those fearful of sharks.

“The whole idea is to create a space where people who wouldn’t normally go swimming in the ocean because they are afraid of sharks have a space where they can feel safe and have a swim,” he said.