Golden retriever seen chasing otters in river at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park as owner stands by

A golden retriever was seen running into a river and chasing a group of otters that were relaxing there.

Nature lovers disapproved of the scene, noting that the dog was lucky to walk away unscathed from the otters.

Owner wasn't holding onto leash

In a video of the scene filmed and posted on Facebook by user Jeff Tan on Nov. 15, the otters rapidly swam away each time the dog went towards them.

A leash can be seen attached to the dog's neck.

Shortly, a man, presumably the dog's owner, appeared on the rock path cutting across the river and tried to call the dog over.

He was not holding onto the leash.

It did not obey, and continued to splash around the river looking for the otters.

The man later took off his shoes and socks, seeming to consider getting into the river, but did not do so for some time.

After the dog chased the otters for nearly two minutes, the video cut to show that the man eventually went in the river, grabbed the dog's leash, and led it out of the river.

From what can be seen in the video, no otters appeared to have been harmed.

Based on other videos that Tan has posted on his page, the incident possibly happened at river in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, near Tan's house.

"Remember to leash your dog and hold tight when you see the otters," Tan wrote in this video's post. "The Golden Retriever was lucky that this otter family was quite tame and there were no otter pups."

Several commenters under the post expressed concern for both the dog and the otters, with one calling the dog owner irresponsible.

A few, however, said that the dog and otters seemed to be having fun playing with each other.

Leash your pets

According to the National Parks Board (NParks), pet owners are required to leash their dogs in public places and may be fined up to S$5,000 for not doing so.

Keeping one's dog on a leash and close at heel helps to keep it out of harm’s way.

Otters are also known to be territorial creatures, particularly when there are pups in the romp, and could easily set their sights on a pet dog that ventures too close.

Attacks on humans are not unheard of — in 2021, a man that ended up too close to a romp of 20 otters at the Singapore Botanic Gardens was bitten over 20 times.

Another incident also occurred in 2022 at Lorong Halus.

Top images from Jeff Tan/Facebook