A pet owner is urging fishermen to be considerate with tackle after he was forced to remove a hook from his dog’s mouth.

Rocky, a four-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, had impaled his tongue on the 1.5-inch, barbed hook after picking it up on Sheerness beach.

His owner, Damien Barnes, is warning that a child could pick up a similar object and seriously hurt themselves.

Rocky had been out for a walk with Mr Barnes and girlfriend Alex McDonald. It was not until they were on the way home that the couple noticed blood and foam coming from the dog’s mouth.

Mr Barnes, 20, of Jefferson Road, Sheerness, said Rocky started choking, he also noticed fishing line coming out of his mouth.

He said: “At first I though it was just Rocky being a dog, but then I noticed the blood and realised he had something in his mouth.

“I looked in his mouth and saw there was a hook at the back of his tongue and it had gone all the way through.

“I tried to pull it out but he wouldn’t let me and he was getting weaker and weaker.”

Anglers

Mr Barnes said after four attempts he managed to pull the hook out. He phoned an emergency vet who told him to bring Rocky in the next day for antibiotics.

The dad-of-one said Rocky had recovered by the next day but the incident has prompted him to urge anglers to be considerate to others and pick up line and hooks.

He said: “I have a baby daughter who is about to start walking. What if she had picked it up.

“I am not having a go at fishermen, I fish myself, but they must not leave hooks and line on the beach.

“I managed to get the hook out but it had damaged the dog’s mouth, they are dangerous when not disposed of correctly.”

A spokesman for Swale council said although the beach is cleaned every day anglers should make sure they take all equipment home with them and dispose of it responsibly.