A recent visit to Charter from Ozzie the beautiful flat coat retriever has served as a timely reminder to dog owners of the need to keep dogs on leads in areas popular for fishing…

Ozzie was in North Devon on holiday when he managed to get a fish hook stuck in his paw whilst in the car park of a local beach. His owners whizzed him up to our Mullacott hospital, where he met with vet Katie who sedated him and was able to safely remove it. Luckily this barbed hook was easily removed but hooks embedded in bait can be swallowed with much more serious, even fatal consequences. If your dog ever does swallow a fish hook, keep calm and do not try to pull it out, it will only get stuck. If there is fishing line attached to it, do not cut it off; instead contact your vet immediately.