Rafael a five month old Rottweiler came to see our talented and dedicated vet Dr Ryan Stevenson on Friday night because his owners were certain he had eaten a fisherman's bait. That’s in itself is not usually a big problem, except that it was still attached to the fish hook and line!
On inspection of Rafael’s mouth and throat, the hook and line was nowhere to be seen. Rafael was pretty pleased with himself and wondered what all the fuss was about. Despite no apparent discomfort for Rafael, the hook and line posed a serious risk of perforation and obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract. Over time vomiting, dehydration, sepsis, shock and even death are potential outcomes.
That hook and line was best retrieved sooner rather than later. So Dr Ryan stayed back after hours, performed x-rays and it was immediately clear he had swallowed it whole and it was now in his stomach. With our fantastic nurse team, Ryan performed surgery to remove what Rafael thought was a yummy beach treat. The fish hook and 20cm of line was successfully removed with no complications. It was lucky that the hook was well embedded in the bait and not into Raffa!
Rafael went home Saturday afternoon smiling. I don't think he learnt his lesson. He still wants to hoover anything down before you can catch him 😋 😫
The hook and line post extraction.
