Al Khobar is a large city located in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Half Moon Beach and Khobar Corniche are known tourist hotspots. People from the near GCC states flock the city to do activities such as family picnics, fishing and other water sports. Our case today involves a life threatening injury that can be acquired from areas where fishing is a popular pastime.
Nim is a 3 year old male dachshund that has a habit of picking up anything that he can chew on. An afternoon walk to the Corniche area led him to ingest a 2 inch fish hook as shown below. The fur parents know that their dog got something around the beach area and was immediately brought to ADVANCED PET CLINIC. The dog has shown no clinical symptoms and was fit enough for surgery after initial blood tests. Initial radiographs shows the fish hook already ingested as shown on the film below.
The dog underwent gastrotomy or surgical opening of the stomach. The hook was recovered and patient was back to normal after 3 days post-surgery.
All foreign objects especially the pointed ones recovered in this case can be dangerous for any pet. It is best for our pets to see their veterinarian immediately when we have the notion that our pets have chewed something aside from food.
Pet owners should be wary to places they will be going and be observant for their fur-babies activities. Fishing enthusiasts are also advised to keep an inventory of their equipment. The life of other animals can be at stake when such tool gets into impale another animal besides fish.
MICHAEL CRUEL, DVM