A UK man woke to discover that his dog had chewed his big toe to the bones, only to find later that his dog’s action might have saved his life.
David Lindsay, 64, woke suddenly from sleep
when he heard his wife emit a bloodcurdling scream.
He then found that his bulldog Harley had
chewed his big toe to the bones.
“He’s done me a favor by chewing my toe,”
David told SWNS.
The Cambridge native’s said: “I was asleep on
the couch when my wife walked in and shouted, ‘Dave, the puppy’s chewing your
toe!’”
He said that he woke up to see a bloody stump
where his big toe had been.
As it turned out, his 7-month-year-old puppy
gnawed his toe so badly that he’d fractured it, and left a nail hanging off
like a human chew toy.
Lindsay’s wife quickly bandaged the toe,
before transporting her husband to the hospital, where he learned that he had
an infection due to the bite.
He was forced to remain in hospital for nine
days while doctors administered intravenous antibiotics to stop it from
spreading to his bone.
Despite the grueling ordeal, the bite turned
out to be a blessing in disguise, as it led to a shocking diagnosis.
“Because of all this, I discovered that my
foot is completely numb, I can’t feel anything,” said the patient, who suffers
from diabetes.
Subsequent CT scans revealed that the Brit
had suffered two blocked arteries, putting him in danger of requiring a leg
amputation due to the lack of blood flow to the region.
Thanks to the dog, Lindsay is currently being
assessed for stents, which would open up the arteries and restore circulation
to his limbs.
In other words, losing a toe paradoxically
might have prevented him from losing a leg.
Lindsay has since learned to see the funny
side of the situation.
“You’ve got to laugh about it,” Lindsay, who
has no plans to give away the dog, said.
“I’m waiting to find out if they can put
stents in,” Lindsay said. “I’ll be keeping the dog.”
He added, “I’ll try to keep my toe, too, but
if not, I told the doctor to cut it off, and I can take it home for him!”
It’s unlikely that Harley actually sensed his
owner was in peril, however, canines have displayed an uncanny potential to
detect disease.
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