A dog has narrowly escaped death after having a live leech sucking its blood from its nose for five days.
Gypsy the German Shepherd went on a trip with his owner at the mountainous state of Uttarakhand in northern India.
The pooch was not aware that a leech had swum up into his nose while he was drinking water at a watering hole.
It had been sucking the canine's blood for almost a week until the owner realised its weight loss after it's brought back to Delhi.
The owner took Gypsy and rushed to a veterinary clinic where the vet had to put it on sedation and perform emergency surgery.
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In a clip taken inside the clinic, Gypsy has his snout tied up while the veterinarian uses a pair of foreign body forceps to pull the live leech out.
The expert spends two hours to remove the blood-sucking leech – which measures roughly 4 inches long – out from Gypsy's nose.
The vet said that if the leech stayed in the nose any longer, it could have cost the dog its life.
Leech infestation commonly happens when the animal or human swim in or drink contaminative streams.
Animal stories
They use their suckers to attach to the skin and ingest an amount of blood that is five times bigger than their own weight.
Pet owners are advised to check on their pets upon returning from hikes or trekking trips to ensure the pet is leech-free.
In other news, an obese Jack Russell has been put on a diet after tearing through bags of Doritos and failing to jump up on her owner’s couch.
The four-year-old hound tips the scales at nearly 10kg, doubling the weight of an average Jack Russell.
A research led by SlimmingDogs.co.uk showed the number of overweight dogs in the UK has risen by half in the past two years.
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