Invercargill resident Ngaire Peek, and three other family members were at the beach tossing the ball for Ragnar and other family dogs on January 3.
The group deliberately travelled about 2km up the beach to get plenty of space for the dogs to play without distractions.
"I like to have space, especially when you’ve got dogs.
"It was far enough away that other dogs couldn’t see us and he [Ragnar] couldn’t see other dogs."
No-one saw the car until the last second.
"He seemed to come out of nowhere.
"I just screamed ... The bang was horrific."
Watching her dog spin through the air has left an ugly image etched in her memory.
"The guy was going fast and near us. That’s what scares me."
Ms Peek said the driver, who was travelling close to the waterline, and near people, told her he did not swerve because he was worried he would roll his ute.
"He [the driver] was very apologetic, but I did go nuts at him.
"I said to him, this could’ve been a kid and you couldn’t stop."
The dog’s injuries were initially not obvious and left only a few spots of blood on the sand.
The emergency vet examined him the day of the accident,
"When we [first] got him home he wouldn’t eat or drink".
But a second visit was necessary the following day after the dog’s condition deteriorated.
Chest X-rays revealed a double pneumothorax — air had accumulated outside the lung inside the chest wall.
Her dog was well controlled, it was unlikely her 1-year-old fox red Labrador had even seen the car because he would be singularly focused on retrieving the ball, she said.
Ms Peek thought people driving on the beach were not taking enough care in the shared space.
Invercargill City Council manager strategic asset planning Russell Pearson said the council had not had any complaints about driver behaviour or vehicle accidents at the beach, but they would usually be directed to police.
Signs state the speed limit is 20kmh.
Acting Sergeant Paul Moylan, of the Invercargill police, said the beach’s shared space should be treated as a road.
"Keep to the speed limit and be aware of who is around you and where they are parked.
"20kmh is a good speed to be able to watch where you are going.
"Cars shouldn’t be down at the water’s edge. That’s quite dangerous."
The police had not been notified of any driving complaints at the beach.
At present, the city’s police were too under-resourced to allow them to closely monitor the beach, Acting Sgt Moylan said.
"Our priorities, at this stage, are the highways. If we are in town and there are complaints out there, we will come out. But it is difficult to be everywhere."
He advised the public to report any issues via the emergency services number, *555 or use the online road-watch report.
Police would attend to a 111 call if it was believed someone would be injured.
Written by Toni McDonald
