A DISABLED woman has been forced to spend £300 of her disability allowance on surgery for her assistance dog, after he was injured by angling equipment left by a canal.

Samantha Bailey, 40, who lives near Thorpe Willoughby, was out with her nine-month old retreiver/rottweiler puppy Ethan on Sunday when he picked up a hook beside the Selby Canal.

Samantha, who used to live in York, said: “He went down for a drink and came back up the bank and I saw he had something stuck in his mouth.

“So I told him to leave it, and that’s when it all got tangled up in his mouth. We were quite a way from the car, and there was just blood everywhere.”

“He had the lure, which was like a big fish, and got the hook stuck and ended up pulling the lure off that, which drove the hook into his mouth even more.

“I just struggled and got him to the car. I don’t know how. I have got cuts and bruises all down my legs and arms.”

Samantha, who suffers from nerve damage and has problems with her hands and feet, meaning she has to walk with crutches, then drove to Holmefield Vets in Sherburn-in-Elmet, where Ethan was sedated and inspected.

She said: “He bled all over the surgery waiting room floor, even under sedation the pain was too much.

“He had to go into surgery, a nurse was called and it was found there were three large hooks which were barbed. His mouth is so messed up, his tongue, gum and lip were all caught up in this mess.”

Ethan is recovering following the £300 veterinary treatment, which Samantha has paid for from her disabililty benefit, but will be unable to work this week.

She said: “He’s still on soft food and having porridge and mashed veggies, because I don’t want to give him anything too hard. He just cried and cried and cried until Monday evening. He’s not going to be able to work until at least the end of the week.

“He’s on pain relief and antibiotics, because you don’t know what’s on the end of those hooks.

“We’re hoping long-term he’s going to be okay. I’m probably never going to be able to take him down by the canal again though.”

Ethan is is training to be Samantha’s balance and mobility dog, who can also help with household chores like stripping the bed, unloading the tumble drier, and helping Samantha if she falls.