News

Here’s a lovely photograph of Squidge the handsome beagle, having a fabulous time on the beach last Easter. It has been an idyllic, relaxing day and everyone has had such fun. Squidge has been chasing birds, dodging waves and sniffing all the exciting flotsam and jetsam scattered at the high tide line. He has been
chomping, as beagles love to do, on whatever is lying around. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp, gulp, ulp, arghh! And suddenly it is no longer a fantastic day, as Squidge has just swallowed a piece of bait, with a fishhook and half a metre of line attached. He’s been caught – hook, line and sinker!

Squidge came to the Animal Emergency Centre via his usual veterinarian, where an x-ray had shown the fishhook stuck half way along his oesophagus. The medicine specialist from the Veterinary Specialist Group was called in, but was unable to visualise the hook using an endoscope, and it was over to the on-call specialist surgeon to investigate further. All was revealed when the surgeon opened Squidge’s chest to find the fishhook had pierced his oesophagus and was lying perilously close to one of the major blood vessels near the heart. A few millimetres closer and Squidge would have bled to death.

Squidge sure knows how to get as many people as possible working together on a public holiday weekend! Once the delicate surgical procedure was over with, and after a few days in intensive care, Squidge was feeling well enough to go home.

This summer, whether or not you’re keen on fishing, keep an eye out for discarded tackle if you walk your dog near the sea. If your dog does swallow a fish hook, seek immediate veterinary attention, and DON’T PULL on the line as this might cause serious internal injury.