Barkes Corner: 07 543 0026 | Brookfield Vets: 07 576 1818
A Fishy Story
A FISHY STORY
We all get hooked up from time to time. There are plenty of catches out there. Addictions have to be the one of the most efficient, mental hook ups are powerful but with physical dependency you have swallowed the hook, the line and the sinker. Key in food, health, procreation, materialism etc etc and there is a long line of tempting baits with hidden hooks. Eating is essential and fishing is a time honoured kiwi life style way. However the tasty morsels we sometimes leave on our hooks, attached to fishing rods or lines make easy targets for our pets. Removing hooks from a feisty cats corner of the jaw, having crashed around the garage a few times trying to get away from its attachment makes landing a fish seem easy.
Usually these lodge visibly and with sedation can be pushed through the skin cut off before the barb and extracted without causing to more much damage. Occasionally I see the tell-tale sign of some nylon disappearing down a cats mouth. Its doubtful they are just in the throat and more often an x-ray shows the hook lodged in the stomach. Dogs almost always manage to swallow the hook and the line. Sometimes after a high fibre meal (my favourite is brown bread), a reluctant but necessary poo porer may discover the offending hook a few days later. More often somewhere on the way through there is a hook up, within a few hours vomiting may ensue, other symptoms may follow, pain, inappetence, diaorrhea and dehydration and at some point we see the sickly pet. Fortunately there is no mistaking a hook, always metal so they show up like dogs b... on x-ray, thank the lord we don't have to many plastic hooks out there.
Surgery follows, an easy retrieve, a small hole, an oversew stitch and it's all over. Win-win but sorry no fish.
It goes without saying that tidying away fishing gear, removing all the traces of bait from hooks is a sensible option and then you can reduce hook ups to productive angling only.
Go Back to Peter's Corner
Usually these lodge visibly and with sedation can be pushed through the skin cut off before the barb and extracted without causing to more much damage. Occasionally I see the tell-tale sign of some nylon disappearing down a cats mouth. Its doubtful they are just in the throat and more often an x-ray shows the hook lodged in the stomach. Dogs almost always manage to swallow the hook and the line. Sometimes after a high fibre meal (my favourite is brown bread), a reluctant but necessary poo porer may discover the offending hook a few days later. More often somewhere on the way through there is a hook up, within a few hours vomiting may ensue, other symptoms may follow, pain, inappetence, diaorrhea and dehydration and at some point we see the sickly pet. Fortunately there is no mistaking a hook, always metal so they show up like dogs b... on x-ray, thank the lord we don't have to many plastic hooks out there.
Surgery follows, an easy retrieve, a small hole, an oversew stitch and it's all over. Win-win but sorry no fish.
It goes without saying that tidying away fishing gear, removing all the traces of bait from hooks is a sensible option and then you can reduce hook ups to productive angling only.
Brookfield Vets
Brookfield Shopping Centre
Otumoetai Road, Tauranga
(07) 576 1818
