By Douglas Whitbread via SWNS
A greedy hound narrowly escaped death after swallowing two baited fishing hooks while out walking with his owner.
Seven-month-old labrador Kyte needed a highly risky three-hour operation to remove the lures after they got lodged just above his heart and in the top of his stomach.
The puppy’s shocked owner had originally rushed him to a local vet after seeing a length of fishing line hanging from his mouth.
And worrying X-ray images later revealed how two hooks, each with three prongs, had become stuck inside the mutt’s body.
Surgeon Graham Hayes, from Kentdale Referrals in Milnthorpe, Cumbria, went on to carry out the complex chest operation in the hopes of saving his life.
Thankfully, Kyte pulled through after hooks were carefully unpicked from his vital organs – with his owner saying it was a “miracle” he’d come out unscathed.
They said: “Kyte is now back to normal and it really does feel like a miracle.
“The only evidence that anything happened is the scar he has running down his chest and stomach, but thanks to Graham’s incredible surgical skills, even that is barely noticeable.
“We’re so grateful for everything Kentdale have done. Kentdale saved our gorgeous boy and we can’t thank them enough.”
Kyte’s owner said they were out walking with the pup when they heard his stricken yelps and ran towards him.
And after examining the young dog, they shockingly saw the fishing line dangling from his jaw before realizing what had just happened.
They said: “We heard Kyte cough, yelp, and saw fishing wire hanging out of his mouth.
“Kyte had swallowed a bait fish that had two treble hooks wrapped around it and one of the hooks got lodged in his esophagus. We were incredibly worried.
“Kyte was only seven months old at the time and there was a high chance that he might not make it through the procedure due to the location of the fishing hooks.
“Also, if Kyte made it through the procedure, we were unsure of the kind of aftercare that he might need.
“If he came home, we didn’t know if the procedure would affect Kyte’s quality of life going forward.”
Toby Gemmill, managing director at Kentdale Referrals, explained how surgeon Graham Hayes had gone on to save the stricken mutt’s life.
He said: “The procedure carried out by Graham to remove these hooks was difficult, requiring concurrent opening of his abdomen and chest cavity.
“Kyte’s sternum, or breastbone, was opened to the level of his heart and the diaphragm was cut open.
“The esophagus was opened adjacent to his heart and the tissue carefully lifted off each prong.
“After this, the esophagus was wrapped in tissue from the abdomen to support healing, and then, finally, the hook was released from Kyte’s stomach and removed with a tangle of line.
“Oesophageal surgery carries a relatively high risk of healing problems, leakage and stricture formation (narrowing by scar tissue) and following the surgery, a feeding tube was placed in Kyte’s stomach to bypass and rest the esophagus in order to minimize the risk of complications.”
Kyte was released after almost two weeks in the care of the vet, and now his owner is warning other pet lovers about the dangers of discarded fish hooks.
They added: “Kyte had a 12-day stay at Kentdale and they looked after him like he was one of their own pets. The whole team were amazing.”
