‘Don't Let Me See It': Pacific Grove Shark Attack Survivor Recalls Encounter

A man who recently had a close encounter with a shark on Monterey Bay, near Pacific Grove, recounted the experience, saying he's happy to have escaped with his life and his dog.

On Wednesday, a shark chomped on David Stickler’s paddleboard, inches from his feet and inches from his dog Brutus that was on the board with him.

It was the second shark encounter in the waters near Lovers Point, not far from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Both Stickler and his dog made it safely out of the water. Stickler said he will be saving the board as a souvenir.

Recalling the incident Thursday, Stickler said he and Brutus were out on the water, enjoying the ocean when he noticed the birds around him start to fly erratically. Then a shadow in water that got closer to them.

"My thought was little whale, small whale. But as it went down and under, I watched the shadow go under. Then it had a really sharp movement underneath me," Stickler said. "That's when it hit the board and turned really hard, grabbed onto the front of the board and hit it hard, and that was really jarring."

Stickler said he and Brutus were thrown into the water. "There was this little flash of like 'God, no, don't let me see it," he said.

The two rushed to get back on the board, and that's when Stickler said he had a spiritual experience.

"I looked up, and on the boat, on the back of the boat, there is about 10 to 15 Buddhist monks all praying," he explained. "They didn't bat an eye. They were all just in a circle, all praying. And that was the boat that was following me.

"And they had been calling from 100 meters off," he continued, "so that's what I'm saying -- everything shifted because I was like, 'Oh, someone's following me. Someone's got my back, someone's watching me.'"

They made their way back to shore, and Brutus was ready to get out.

"He was just shaking the whole end, like, 'When are we going to be done?' ... It turned out OK for him," Stickler said.