Dog undergoes emergency surgery after sniffing fishhook

By Charlie Fenton

A dog lover has been left "furious" after her dog needed emergency surgery after a one-inch barbed hook it "sniffed" got lodged deeply in its nose.

Katie Stevens, 44, had taken her dog - a four-year-old Golden Retriever called Lola - on a morning walk along a canal on Monday (Sept 15) when the incident occurred.

The mum of two said she heard a "loud yelp" before rushing over to her pup and finding a three-pronged one-inch spiked fishing hook stuck in her nose.

Katie, a head cook from Beverley, East Yorkshire, rushed Lola to the vets who then underwent emergency surgery to remove the barb which cost her almost $500.

She said: "I was terrified and shocked when I heard her yelp for help and saw the hook in her nose.

"Where we were walking, there is no reason for the hook to have been on the floor, as we were on the side where fishing isn't allowed.

"Fishermen need to be more careful and need to make sure to take everything away with them.

"Even worse it I could have been a toddler who might have gotten hurt - I know a number of parents who take their children for a walk along the beck."

Katie was on her normal morning walk with Lola before she started work when the injury happened.

They were wandering along Beverley Beck - on the side which doesn't allow fishing - when the mum decided to let out Lola's leash.

Katie said: "I had let her leash out and watched her go over to a small tree.

"Then I heard this loud yelp.

"It was shocked as I had never heard her yelp that loud before.

"I rushed over and was looking to see what was wrong and I saw her shaking her head vigorously.

"She had a hook stuck in her nose which was attached to a loafer and another hook on the other side."

The hook which was stuck is normally used to catch Pike fish.

Katie has told how the second hook got stuck to her coat as she was trying to calm Lola down and was only able to unclip it from Lola with the help of a passerby.

She then removed the hook from herself.

Katie said: "Lola kept trying to lick her nose so I had to put my hand in front to stop her from catching her tongue on it."

She then managed to call her cousin Darren Robinson, 42, who owns a mechanics shop less than ten minutes from their location, who was able to clip the two other hooks from her nose using a pair of cutters.

Katie then rushed Lola to Vets4Pets - which was a short walk away - where they conducted emergency surgery.

Lola was given a light sedation while a vet removed the barb.

The vet bill cost the cook $448 in total - this included a pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication which she has to take for a week.

Katie Lola is "recovering well" at home but is urging those who fish in the area to clean up after themselves.

She said: "After the surgery she spent the day sleeping off the sedation.

"She is doing absolutely fine now and is back to her normal walks but we haven't returned to the beck yet.

"I just urge those fishing to be more careful as it could have been so much worse."