A DOG was left needing urgent surgery after swallowing a large fishing hook, prompting a stark warning from her owners.

Sheila Rose, from Canvey, had taken her Alaskan Malamute for a walk by Canvey sea wall when she noticed Summer had started chewing something and spotted a fishing line hanging out her mouth.

To the horror of her owners, an x-ray soon revealed seven-year-old Summer had swallowed a piece of bait that was still attached to a large fishing hook.

Sheila, 63, said: “I’d taken her out about 6am Friday along by the Estuary to a place we call the shells, opposite Canvey Football Club.

“I think she must’ve smelt something and dived her nose in the shells, before coming out chewing something.

“I stuck my hand in her mouth and tried to get whatever it was out, but I couldn’t seem to find anything. It was when she still kept chewing I noticed this fishing line hanging from her mouth.

“I got her home quickly, thinking the best thing for me to do was to cut the fishing line so she didn’t keep chewing it.

“I put her food down which she ate, so assumed it must have been a bit of bait.”

Alarm bells soon started ringing and Sheila rushed her pet to Medivet.

She added: “The vets did an x-ray before ringing to tell me she’d swallowed a big hook which they needed to get out. They said they were going to operate while she was already under for her x-ray.

“She was transferred to Medivet in Southend and spent the night there, before coming back home on Saturday. Thankfully she’s recovering well, but has got a big scar and no fur on her belly, with lots of bruising.

“We were lucky, if she’d have just picked up a hook and the fishing line hadn’t been hanging out her mouth I wouldn’t have known. It could’ve left her with a serious injury or even killed her, and it was so awful to see her in so much pain - it really broke my heart.”

The family are now urging people to clear up their mess and dispose of their litter more carefully.

Sheila continued: “By no means are we blaming fishermen, this is about all of us being more careful with our litter.

"It’s also about the children that may plan on the beach too, as well as the sea life.”