A poor dog was lucky to avoid major surgery after swallowing a fish hook while out walking.
One-year-old Runa had been out with her owners when the hook became lodged in her mouth.
The rescue dog, originally from Romania, had to be rushed to the vets after her worried owners struggled to remove it.
They are now warning other dog walkers to be wary, as they believe the hook could have been left there deliberately in Portishead, Somerset.
Owner Angus said: “We were just out on our regular walk by the marshlands where we live when Runa became really interested in something on a fence. I tried to get her to come away, but she was really interested in what she’d found.
“She started to eat it and so I ran over to her to try and get it off her, but she wouldn’t spit it out, so I tried to get it out of her mouth.”
Runa became more distressed as he tried to remove the hook.
He added: “When I started pulling it, I couldn’t tell what it was.
“When I looked inside Runa’s mouth, I thought I could see a bone sticking up.
“She was really distressed, and I tried to pull it out but it wouldn’t budge. I stopped pulling but she was still choking, so I tried again and this time blood came flowing out.”
Runa was treated by Olivia Lancaster, a veterinary surgeon at Vale Vets Portishead, a My Family Vets practice.
She said: “Runa was brought in as an emergency and when we examined her, we found a large fish hook embedded in the centre of her tongue.
“We couldn’t remove the hook whilst Runa was conscious, so she was anaesthetised and the hook was removed.
“Surprisingly there was minimal damage to her mouth, but Runa was given a course of pain relief and antibiotics to keep her comfortable and prevent infection.
“Runa recovered quickly from her anaesthetic and was walking about and wagging her tail within half an hour.”
Olivia warned there has been an increase in similar incidents.
She added: “Fortunately, this is not a common occurrence, although it is becoming more frequent, mainly because there is often bait attached to discarded fish hooks, which dogs find enticing.
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