West Kelowna veterinarian saves turtle with fish hook stuck in throat

WATCH BELOW: Turtle recovering from having a hook in its throat released in the Okanagan

0:37 Turtle recovering from having a hook in its throat released in the Okanagan

A West Kelowna veterinarian successfully performed surgery to remove a large fishing hook that was lodged in a turtle’s throat on Saturday.

Dr. Moshe Oz of the Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital said that since the large hook had a barb on the end of it, the surgery was difficult.

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The turtle was brought to Oz by a good Samaritan.

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“If there wasn’t a barb,” he said “then the turtle could even deal with it by itself.”

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Oz decided to go forward with surgery, opening the turtle’s throat, which he says was necessary to save the small reptile’s life.

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Oz said the hook’s design made its presence in the turtle’s throat life-threatening, painful and very difficult to deal with.

After the surgery and a brief recovery, the turtle, which Oz’s son named “Sunny”, was released back into the wild.

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