This is the moment a rescue team saved a pet dog shot through the head with a fishing dart.

Heart-wrenching footage shows officers pulling the metal object out of the bleeding canine's head in Nakhon Ratchasima in northeast Thailand, on May 21.

They spent 30 minutes carefully extracting the dart before applying first aid.

The dog owner said she returned home from work and found her pet seriously injured, with the sharp projectile sticking out of his temple.

She said: 'A fisherman may have accidentally shot him. Many people are out fishing in floodwaters because of the rainy season.'

The wounded pooch appeared groggy but was conscious as he was taken to a veterinarian.

The owner said he was being closely monitored by a doctor.

Harpoon accidents sometimes occur in rural parts of Thailand, where villagers use them to go fishing or hunting untrained.