Two women argue after a dog allegedly attacked a cat walking on Auckland's Milford beach. Video / Supplied
An Auckland woman who took her hairless Sphynx cat to the beach has shared the tense confrontation she had with the owner of a dog that she says attacked the cat.
The North Shore woman took her cat, Bobbie, to Milford beach late yesterday afternoon when the incident occurred.
She was at the beach with her mother and brother and admitted that they initially did not have their cat on a leash, telling the Herald that they made the decision because she couldn't see any dogs on the beach when they arrived.
When some dogs approached the family she says the animals had a friendly encounter with Bobbie, who she described as her baby, being placed on the sand and firmly held.
When other onlookers wanted to pat Bobbie, the family placed her on the sand again.
That was when another dog approached and began chasing Bobbie, biting her before the owner could pick her up.
Bobbie's owner told the Herald that her cat suffered minor injuries and was badly shaken by the incident.
After Bobbie was recovered from a nearby bush where she had been cowering, the family headed back down the beach towards home and ran into the dog owner who had walked away after the animals' brief altercation.
The cat owner told the Herald she asked the dog owner to put her dog on a leash, only for her to respond with "racist" comments.
The confrontation was captured on video and shared to social media by the cat owner.
Bobbie is usually an indoor cat. Photo / Supplied
"You brought a cat to the beach where people walk dogs, and you know that," the dog owner says.
"If you care about your cat you would never have brought a cat to the beach."
The cat owner responded by saying: "I love my cat, that's why I bring my cat to the beach" and added that "dogs are fine, but people like you are the worst".
The cat owner told the Herald that she was subjected to racially-charged comments during the row and the video captures the dog owner stating: "I know what you think of us, and white people, I know, I'm not stupid".
"You
were being racist and telling me to go home, New Zealand is my home," the cat owner says, before being told by the dog owner that "Kiwis don't do this".
The video shows the dog owner repeatedly asking the cat owner to stop following her and defending her attempts to stop the dog attacking the cat.
Video also shows the cat owner speaking in Mandarin, using crude sexual language towards the other woman.
The cat owner admitted to the Herald that she followed the woman throughout the encounter, leading to the other woman calling the police.
Police confirmed to the Herald that they attended the incident and spoke to the informant.
Bobbie is prone to sunburn and susceptible to the cold and only makes fleeting trips outdoors. Photo / Supplied
Bobbie's owner told the Herald that Bobbie was not socialised with dogs, because she was largely an indoor cat.
"She doesn't really go out very often, that's why I really wanted to take her out".
The owner says she keeps her cat inside because Bobbie is a hairless, or Sphynx, cat and can suffer from sunburn and the cold and is at risk from theft.
She defended the decision to walk the cat on the beach, saying that the cat was her "baby".
"You can take your baby to the beach, why can't I take my baby to the beach?" she told the Herald.
"I often take the cat out, sometimes we take the cat to the Sunday market or to the beach," she said, adding that Bobbie always received a lot of attention.
The much-loved pet is often carried when taken out by her owners. Photo / Supplied
"We should all be kind to each other. Posting this is something I didn't want to do but she was really offensive."
"What if someone's baby got bitten by a dog, would that be a different story, would people still laugh? Would people say why didn't you take care of your kids? For me, my cat is my kid, she's my baby. If we could all be kinder to each other, that would be nicer."
Opinion on the now-deleted post was split, with some saying that the dog should not have been on the beach if it could be controlled and other arguing it was following its natural instincts.
"Taking a cat to a beach during dog walking times is like throwing fuel in a fire," said one commenter, while another argued that the dog owner should have apologised, saying it was a "common human response".
"I had same issue when I walked my pet gold fish along Milford Beach. Off leash seagull came and pecked one of its eyes out. No owner in sight," joked one man.
Auckland Council's Manager Animal Management Sarah Anderson told the Herald that there are no bylaws that prohibit cats, or any animals other than dogs or horses, being walked on Auckland beaches - but she encouraged pet owners to use common sense.
"We encourage all owners to take care of the safety of their animals, and of others".
