Owners Laurie and Sandra Bates said their dog Gemma was lucky to be alive after the three-year-old Kelpie swallowed a chicken neck attached to fishing line left near Millbrook Park.

The couple will now incur a hefty vet bill and said people need to be more wary of what they left lying around.

“We just want to make people aware – don’t be so irresponsible,” Sandra said.

Kate Wilson from the Tenterfield Veterinary Clinic said they quite often get dogs come in who have eaten things they shouldn’t but Gemma’s was a different case.

“A hook had gotten lodged in her oesophagus and we had to pull out a few metres of line.

“We were unable to remove it out of her mouth so we put a scope down and pushed the line into her stomach and undertook abdominal surgery,” Ms Wilson said.

The much-loved Kelpie is on the mend and is expected to heal well.

“We’re lucky they could do it here and we didn’t have to go all the way to Tamworth or Grafton for specialist treatment,” Laurie said.

“If people just leave stuff behind and lying around then it will definitely happen to another dog.”