When a man opened some canned mackerel he bought at a Kroger in Snellville, he was expecting to give his dog a seafood snack.

However, the fishiest thing in the can wasn’t a fish at all — it was a fish hook.

Keith Hearn told Channel 2 Action News on Thursday that he bought the can of Kroger-brand mackerel from the store at 3035 Scenic Highway a few weeks ago. Once he opened the can, he immediately called the store to report what he caught.

Keith Hearn

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

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Credit: Channel 2 Action News

“Upon further investigation, I got a little prick, and it was a fish hook in there,” he told Channel 2. “Can you imagine an animal with a fish hook stuck in their jaw, stuck in their mouth and in pain?”

In addition to the pointed prong, he told the news station he found part of the fishing line as well, which seemed to be fused to the lid of the can.

Channel 2's Justin Wilfon reports.

The store refunded his money, and a company spokesperson sent Channel 2 a statement that said:

“The safety and welfare of our customers is our top priority. We take an incident such as this very seriously. As this matter is under review, we cannot provide further comment.”

Hearn said the company will need to do more to reel him back in after this incident.

“They’ve taken it so lightly as if it was commonplace,” he said. “That was disturbing to me.”

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Fallen trees are shown near Kroger mall on Nathan Dean Blvd, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Dallas. By about 6 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service had issue a tornado watch for parts of North Georgia, including Dalton, Calhoun, Ellijay and Jasper. That is in effect until 1 a.m. Sunday. Heavy storms are expected to reach northwest Georgia by around 8 p.m. (Hyosub Shin / AJC)

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