A Dunbar dog has been left with a severely sore cheek after a fisherman left their line and hook on the walkway at the culvert in Torness.
Owner Emer Harkin, says that her dog Floyd, 10, was left in considerable pain and had to pay a £350 visit to the local vets to have the fish hook removed from his cheek.
She is calling on the fishermen of Torness to clean up after themselves to avoid further injuries in the future.
Floyd was being walked by Emer’s friend, Jock Shiells, at around 10:30pm on the evening of Monday 11 April when the incident occurred.
Emer says that injury could have been avoided as Dunbar Against Litter and the Torness community have worked together over the last year to introduce several new bins along the sea wall in the community.
But she says that fishermen often leave their lines, bait and hooks amongst other mess lying around for other people to clean up.
On a post on Facebook, she said: “For the attention of fishermen at Torness, one of you was careless enough to leave your line with hooks on the walkway at the culvert.
“I have no idea if bait was attached but it attracted my dog and he ended up with your hook attached to the inside of his cheek and being caught up In the rest of your line.
“We had to make an emergency trip to the animal hospital in Edinburgh, for my dog to be sedated, to have your hook removed and I’m £350 lighter.
“There are so many bins at Torness that it wouldn’t have taken you much effort to have walked the little distance to dispose of your line properly.
“If you can’t walk the small distance to a bin, then be responsible enough to take it away with you.
“Fortunately, Floyd is fine today but I need to watch for possible infection. This is an incident that could have been so much worse but also could also have been completely avoided.”
The ten-year-old Border Collie is understood to be recovering well but the incident has left Emer frustrated.
She added: “I'm just glad that Floyd is ok. It makes me cross that people expect others to clear up after them.
“Dunbar Against Litter and Torness worked together last year and organised many bins along the sea wall at Torness for people to put their rubbish in.
“Unfortunately, many of the fishermen still leave their lines, bait and rubbish lying around for others to clean up.”
