Dog walk nearly ends in disaster with blue-ringed octopus after owner thought he got lucky spotting a free toy floating in the ocean
- Jesse Donnison found a deadly octopus in the ball
- His dog Otto started chasing the deadly creature
- The venom of a blue-ringed octopus can kill instantly
A relaxing walk along Sydney Harbor could have turned deadly to one man and his dog after an encounter with one of Australia’s most venomous sea creatures.
Jesse Donnison and his dog Otto were walking along Blackwattle Bay in Glebe when he saw a dog toy floating in the water.
But Mr. Donnison got more than he bargained for when he picked up the ball, thinking he’d score a free toy for his dog.
“I thought it had algae or something on it, but then a tentacle jumped out,” he told NCA NewsWire.
He initially “startled” and dropped the ball, but had a heartbreaking moment as Otto chased after the toy and the creature.
Mr Donnison (left) says he is thankful his dog Otto (right) was not bitten by the octopus
Jesse Donnison and his dog Otto were walking along Blackwattle Bay in Glebe when they spotted a blue-ringed octopus (pictured) in a ball
“As soon as that tentacle came out, I knew it could only be one creature,” he said of the blue-ringed octopus.
“I dropped it pretty quickly, I was mostly worried about the dog. Otto immediately tried to get on the ball.
“Luckily I even looked and didn’t just throw it away for the dog to go get it.”
Blue-ringed octopuses are among the world’s most venomous marine animals, carrying enough venom to kill 26 adult humans in minutes.
Due to their size, their bites are small and often painless, with their venoms capable of causing respiratory arrest, heart failure, paralysis, blindness, and eventually death from suffocation.
“I wasn’t so much afraid as shocked. I was expecting seaweed so it was a bit of a surprise,” Mr Donnison said.
He said the octopus started out as a green seaweed color but soon started showing its blue rings.
Blue-ringed octopuses are generally found in shallow water, tide pools, and coral reefs
Although venomous, the octopuses are relatively docile, showing only their bright blue rings and become dangerous to humans if they believe they are under threat.
A few weeks ago, a woman was lucky enough to escape with her life after being bitten several times by the creature.
The woman, in her thirties, was bitten in the abdomen on Thursday afternoon at Chinamans Beach in Mosman around 2:45 pm.
“This woman was swimming and picked up a shell. It contained a small blue-ringed octopus that fell out and bit her twice in the stomach,” said NSW Ambulance Superintendent Christian Holmes.
“The patient was experiencing some abdominal pain around the bite site, so paramedics applied pressure and a cold compress before taking her to the hospital to be checked and treated for further symptoms.”
Mr. Donnison said the woman was front and center when dealing with the creature.
“I stayed right after I heard what happened to her. I knew there were blue-ringed octopuses around, but not Black Wattle near Glebe,’ he said.
Blue-ringed octopuses can be found along the east coast of Australia and in Sydney Harbour.