AN angry dog-owner has hit out at irresponsible anglers after her pet had to have a fishing hook surgically removed from its stomach.

Claire Todd and her husband Robert had to rush their three-year-old Springador – Labrador-Springer-cross Rufus, to the vets after he swallowed the hook and line during his morning walk at Hengistbury Head on Saturday.

Rufus was said to be in good spirits despite the fishing line still hanging from his mouth and is recovering well after the surgery, which has left him with stitches along the length of his body.

Claire said: “The vet said he was lucky the hook went straight to his stomach, as if it had gone into his oesophagus, there would have been more complications. Whoever leaves this type of equipment just lying on the beach is so irresponsible. It makes me angry to think animals are suffering because of someone else’s carelessness and laziness.”

The veterinary nurse at Magnolia House Veterinary Surgery in Stony Lane Christchurch, where Rufus was treated, Katherine Hughes said: “This certainly isn’t the first case we have had of an animal being injured by a fishing hook. This was a particularly large hook as well and could have been a lot more serious.”

Just over two weeks ago, Christchurch Borough Council urged anglers to clear up their tackle after a great black-backed gull became entangled in a large fishing float and drowned.

One Highcliffe resident said he believed incidences were becoming more and more common after discovering dead birds and discarded rubbish containing rag worms and bait on local beaches and behind beach huts over the past two weeks.

He said: “From talking to other beach users, not just dog owners, it is obvious that these incidents are far from unusual and just about everyone has similar stories to tell.”