His life was on the line.
A hungry hound named Kyte had to be rushed to the hospital after swallowing two fish hooks while walking with his owner in the UK, as seen in grisly pics blowing up online.
“It really does feel like a miracle,” the dog’s unnamed owner said in a statement regarding the canine bycatch.
They had reportedly been walking the seven-month-old labrador when they heard the mutt start to cough and yelp in pain.
The owner ran toward the pup to see what was amiss, whereupon they noticed that Kyte had a length of fishing line dangling from his mouth.
Alarmed, they rushed their beloved doggo to the hospital, where doctors revealed that Kyte had swallowed a bait fish affixed with two triple-pronged fish hooks, as seen in gruesome X-rays.
One of them had reportedly gotten caught in the dog’s esophagus.
Kyte’s owner said they were “incredibly worried” that their imperiled pet wouldn’t survive an operation due “to the location of the fishing hooks. Or if the patient did pull through, they felt he wouldn’t emerge unscathed.
“If Kyte made it through the procedure, we were unsure of the kind of aftercare that he might need,” the pet parent fretted. “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 in Cumbria where Kyte was treated, explained the grueling lengths surgeon Graham Hayes had to go to to extract the hooks.
“The procedure carried out by Graham to remove these hooks was difficult, requiring concurrent opening of his abdomen and chest cavity,” Gemmill described. “Kyte’s sternum, or breastbone, was opened to the level of his heart and the diaphragm was cut open.”
They added, “The esophagus was opened adjacent to his heart and the tissue carefully lifted off each prong.”
They then wrapped the esophagus in abdominal tissue to foster healing, before extracting the swallowed tackle, hook line and sinker.
They then outfitted Kyte’s stomach with a feeding tube to rest the esophagus post-op. This surgical safeguard mitigated the risk of potential complications, which included leakage and narrowing of the esophagus due to scarring.
Thankfully Kyte is off the hook, both literally and figuratively. The procedure was a success, and Kyte was discharged after almost two weeks of veterinary care.
“Kyte is now back to normal,” gushed the grateful dog parent. “Kentdale saved our gorgeous boy and we can’t thank them enough.”
In light of Kyte’s fatal canine catch-and-release, the owner hopes other dog lovers will be more aware of of the perils of discarded fishing tackle.
