The brave woman who jumped into Sydney Harbour to rescue a struggling dog said she wasn’t thinking about sharks because her “instinct” took over.
Shannon Clark, from Woolloomooloo, who works as the office manager at popular Finger Wharf restaurant China Doll, said she sprang into action after hearing a commotion just before midday on Monday.
“People were saying, ‘There’s a dog in the water! Dog in the water!'” Clark told Daily Mail Australia.
After going to see what was happening outside, Ms. Clark noticed the owner was on the other side of the dock calling the dog.
However, despite the owner’s pleas, the dog continued to struggle in the water and appeared to be on the verge of drowning.
“I thought, ‘the dog is so small’… I think it was a King Charles Spaniel, but it was like a puppy, brand new,” she said.
‘It must have weighed about two or three kilos: adorable.
“And I looked at the situation and thought, ‘She (the owner) is not doing anything. Nothing is happening.'”
Shannon Clark, from Woolloomooloo, who works as an office manager at popular Finger Wharf restaurant China Doll, said she sprang into action after hearing a commotion just before midday on Monday.
Mrs. Clark took off her shoes and pants and “jumped” when she saw that no one else was going to do anything to help save the dog.
That’s when Ms. Clark decided to step in and rescue the dog.
‘Everyone was just staring at this poor dog running around in circles not knowing what was going on and I thought, well, if no one comes in, I’ll come in.
“I ran quickly, took off my shoes, took off my pants and jumped,” he said.
By this time there was already a fairly large crowd, but Mrs. Clark was undaunted.
“I thought, ‘I’m a good swimmer, surely I can do this,'” she said.
“I have a dog too, so all I could think was, if that was my pup, my God, I would have been there right after he fell.”
Ms Clark, who is also a professional dancer, attributed her skills to swimming lessons she took when she was young.
The rescuer, who reacted quickly, said that instinct took over when it came to holding the dog in the water to prevent it from drowning.
“I guess it was kind of an instinct. I obviously wanted to protect the puppy and make it as safe as possible and that was the best position I thought,” she said.
“Luckily the dog was small enough that I could balance him on my shoulder.”
Since the rescue happened less than 2 kilometres from where former Navy diver Paul de Gelder lost his right hand and leg in a shark attack in 2009, Ms Clark is fielding ongoing questions about whether she was worried about being maimed.
“No, I didn’t even think about sharks,” he said.
I was probably more worried about the dog than myself.
‘Now people have said it and I’m like, “Oh yeah, I guess so,” but at the time I was like, “Dog, I need to help.”
The dog lover had no thought for the sharks and focused solely on rescuing the dog who was struggling to get out of the water (pictured: Mrs Clark with her dog Chilli)
The brave swimmer returned to work and continued her day as if nothing had happened.
“I wish I could be that responsible (in caring for the sharks), but if something has to happen, it has to happen. I guess that’s life.”
The accidental heroine said her colleagues and workers at another restaurant rushed to cover her with tablecloths when she emerged from the water.
“I would have liked to choose underwear with more material that day… so it was very kind of everyone to protect my modesty,” she laughed.
Ms Clark’s colleague wrapped the dog up to dry it off, before the owner approached and offered to buy the office manager a thank you gift for saving her beloved pet.
It was then that Mrs. Clark noticed that there were many men around and was surprised that no one had helped her.
“I looked at the guys and thought, ‘Come on, guys.’ Surely someone should have beaten me, but nobody did,” he said.
Surprisingly, the brave swimmer returned to work and continued her day as if nothing had happened.
‘I still had my jeans on, they were dry and I had at least a dry jumper (in the office), but I had to take off my underwear and T-shirt and go about my day as normal.’
