Hot Dogs and Fish Hooks

Snickers, a two-year-old Chocolate Labrador Retriever, was rushed to Newtown Veterinary Specialists after she ingested a fish hook baited with a hot dog and some tackle line. The accident happened while she was fishing with her family on vacation in Maine. Snickers’ family immediately drove all the way home to bring her to our 24-hour emergency service.

Radiographs taken right away showed the fish hook in her esophagus and the snap-swivel in her stomach. Snickers was placed under general anesthesia for an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy to determine whether the fish hook could be removed without the need for surgery.

With the endoscope, our veterinary specialists saw that the barbed portion of the fish hook was imbedded into the lining of her esophagus and the attached tackle line was heading down into her stomach. Using endoscopic foreign body retrieval instruments, our specialists were able to “unhook” the lining of the esophagus and remove the fish hook as well as the leader line and swivel from the stomach. After the fish hook was removed we could see that there was very little damage to the lining of the esophagus and surgery would not be required. This was indeed good news.

Endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract is a procedure that allows our doctors to use a flexible lighted instrument with a video camera in the tip to see the inside of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum, which is the first portion of the small intestine. This is the same instrumentation and procedure that’s used in human medicine.

With this cutting-edge equipment we’re able to detect ulcers, growths, inflammation and foreign objects in the upper gastrointestinal tract. During the procedure, instruments can be passed through a channel in the flexible endoscope to obtain small tissue samples for biopsy or fluid from the stomach or duodenum and to remove small foreign objects.

We’re happy to report that Snickers recovered uneventfully from the anesthetic procedure and went home with her tail wagging!

For families who like to fish and hunt with their dogs, Newtown Veterinary Specialists offers some basic safety advice:

• Keep dogs away from fishing and hunting equipment.
• If your dog swallows a fishhook, don’t try to pull it out yourself as the hook could tear the tissue. Tearing the tissue could lead to serious consequences, such as a hole in the esophagus or stomach or a laceration in the mouth with subsequent bleeding.

Please be reminded that we’re open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for pet emergencies. Our highly trained emergency doctors and veterinary specialists use the most advanced diagnostic technology, equipment and treatment options available to give your pet the very best chance for a full recovery. http://www.newtownvets.com