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sww914 · 15-07-2010, 21:56

We were down on a floating dock this evening after dinner just hanging around enjoying the bay and our dog crept around a corner for a few seconds. I called her back to see about a foot of monofilament hanging out of her mouth and she started coughing. I grabbed her, knowing exactly what had happened and pried her mouth open. I could just see the hook with a chunk of stinky squid on it, stuck in the back of her tongue. I pulled gently (GENTLY!) on the line but it was in there so I didn't pull any more. I tried to get my fingers on the hook to push it out so that I could retrieve it but it was too deep and I couldn't reach it. I set the dog down and she coughed some more. I hoped that she could cough it up but she couldn't. She bit the line off and swallowed the hook.
I grabbed her and ran up the ramp towards the car and yelled for my wife to get our kid up the ramp. Our boy is in a wheelchair so he couldn't run, she had to push him up.
We got in the truck, I threw the wheelchair in the back and we hauled ass to the vet. ER.
At the vet's office they gave us a couple of different options. One was the very expensive option of putting her under and using a scope to look in her stomach and retrieve the hook. I would have done that even though it's $1000.00 but the second option actually sounded better. They fed her four cotton balls smeared around in baby food. Something that smelled like vienna sausages (I refuse to capitalize vienna sausages much as I am unwilling to capitalize chase bank because I hate them both).
The theory is that her stomach won't break down the cotton balls and they will cover the fish hook and allow it to ease it's way out without any damage if we're lucky. If it is unsuccessful she will need surgery but in the interim we're on poop watch. The biggest reason that we chose the cotton balls rather than the scope is because we need to know if it works. If something like this happens while we're cruising it will be good to have a non-surgical solution available.
They recommend that we be sure to monitor her poops and check for the fish hook until we find it and that we keep a close eye on her. They said that if she's having problems we'll know it. She'll stop eating, maybe vomit, feel listless and unwilling to play, basically the same as any of us with a fish hook in our guts would but without the whining and complaining.
I'll let you know how it proceeds.

Pelagic · 15-07-2010, 22:14

Scary ordeal and I hope it all goes well for the pooch.

I imagine they are probably trying to get the dog constipated a bit so that the stool compacts and surrounds the hook. I guess that last 1/2 inch coming out is the tricky part.

Best of luck

TaoJones · 15-07-2010, 23:11

I'm having trouble picturing how, if the hook was stuck in her tongue so that you couldn't pull it out, she could get it un-stuck from her tongue just by swallowing. It's hard to imagine, too, how a dog could bite clear through a piece of monofilament - that stuff is pretty hard to break.

Anyway, take some comfort in knowing that a dog's stomach acid is incredibly potent and that the hook will probably pass through her system successfully. If, however, it perforates her bowel, you're probably looking at a lot more serious (and expensive) surgery to save her life.

Here's to a successful outcome

. Invest in a box of rubber gloves . . . oh, and happy hunting.

TaoJones

sabray · 15-07-2010, 23:18

Having owned a top breed boat yard chessie I know your concern. My own and now past best sailing companion survived numerous incident. She swallowed an eal whole which near gagged her to death and dud untold damage both going down and being spat out upon the pavement. She survived a very expensive and excessive dose of chocalate brownies the expense this time was upon the vets couch. She recieved even more punishment on her backside by my then employers chevy blazer. She was basking pleasantly in his parking space when he arrived a few moments to early fir work. Later she enjoyed a picnic left in the back of a car with it's windows open. I know this ad I witnessed her leaping from the rear passenger window while the owners hurdled their last bottle of wine tword the beast missing just my friend but exploding the windshield of the Saab parked just a wee bit to their stern. She jumped overboard in mutiny at the mist opportune times. I recurs het several timed as she wrapped pot lines around her neck. She was the miost billigerant stubborn pain in the SSS crew I have ever had aboard. I hope her spirit finds yours and you can tell the tail. Uhh tale. With a happy ending

svHyLyte · 16-07-2010, 06:54

At one point we had a female English Springer Spanial--Molly--that loved beer. If one left a bottle or a can on a table that she could reach, she'd invariably knock it over, lick-up the spill and, if a can, carry it off and chew on it, invariably swallowing some of the chards. If one popped the top off a bottle and it fell to the floor, a fast recovery was needed or she would grab it and run off, often swallowing the darn thing before you could extract it from her snarling clentched teeth. Our first experience with this entailed a very costly vet visit on a Thanksgiving day. Later, similar events involved watching the dog closely for signs of illness or distress; and, doing "poop patrols" for evidence that the material had been passed. Whether the forgoing is analogous to a fish-hook I cannot judge--and a preforated bowl could be fatel--but dogs, seem to be able to survive ingesting an impressive aray of foreign objects. I hope that holds for you...

TexSail · 16-07-2010, 08:40

We wish your canine family member a speedy recovery.

**bstreep** · 16-07-2010, 08:46

My sister's setter ate 9 fishing flies. They all passed successfully.

The time he ate her pantyhose didn't work out so well. She was 8 months pregnant, with a foot on each cheek, pulling them out... I asked her if she wore them again!

gonesail · 16-07-2010, 09:10

dogs are not as stupid as most people think .. but they can be pretty dumb

hope it turns out ok.

Mi2ndWind · 16-07-2010, 09:11

I truly hope all comes out well

for the pooch! While I can't offer any real advise, I can offer an anecdote that may help put you at ease. Years back I drove semi truck for a scrap metal yard, and of course we had a "yard dog" that was a fixture there for years. This dog would hide and store any food in the turnings pile, and dig it out and eat it, covered with sharp bits of metal. If you aren't familiar with the term, turnings are the short sharp chips and long curly spirals that are left over from lathes and various machining processes. She would eat stuff that would likely kill us and seemed none the worse for it, doing it for years. Maybe dogs really do have stronger acids and such that tolerate "unfriendly" material. Again, I hope your dog isn't hurt and avoids surgery, good luck!

Rou-Coo · 16-07-2010, 09:38

What kind/size of hook was it? If it wasn't stainless I would guess that the dog's stomach might break it down quite a bit if it is in there a while. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

It reminds me of one time I was fishing for sea-run cutthroats off a shingle beach. I got a huge tug and something big came to the surface. I rowed over and it was an otter (river) who had managed to get hooked in his chest/underarm area. He was probably chasing whatever was chasing my lure. My only option was to get as close as possible and cut the line short. I spoke to a fisheries officer later and he said that a hook like I was using would rot out in less than a week and the otter would probably be none the worse for wear.

flatspaddler · 16-07-2010, 10:08

I also agree that as long as the hook was not stainless,and not too large, the possibility if the actually being dissolved by the stomach acids is quite good. Actually most of the fish hooks manufactured these days are designed to dissolve in the salt water quite quickly, so lets hope your friend has a strong digestive tract and is not troubled by the hook. Good luck, please give an update on whether you actually find the hook and how your friend does.

Palarran · 16-07-2010, 10:48

She should be fine. My Lab ate two over the years and lived to be 13. Both times I went to cast just to find I had a snag. I cut the line as far back as I could. It never bothered her.

dana-tenacity · 16-07-2010, 20:48

Many years ago I helped an uncle who was a vet perform an autopsy on a dog , we found a fish hook with a length of nylon which had wrapped around the intestine and the dog had starved to death.
Good work catching it straight away and good luck.