A regular walk on the beach ended up costing a Havelock North dog owner $2800 in vet bills.
Two Saturdays ago Anna Spurgeon's husband was walking their nine-year-old chocolate lab Chessie along Ocean Beach - when she swallowed a fish-hook.
Although it's an off-lead zone on Ocean Beach, Spurgeon said they usually put Chessie on a leash when walking past fishing lines.
However, on this occasion she was walking slightly ahead and noticed another dog along with its owners who were baiting up a longline.